Enemies in Arms
by Trillian52
Summary: A story of deceptions, decisions, and uneasy alliances with enemies forced to overcome their animosity and rivalry to solve a potentially deadly mystery.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Stargate Atlantis but just think of the fun we could all have if I did!_

**Enemies in Arms**

**Chapter 1**

"It would probably be to your advantage to accept my proposal John Sheppard, but as always the final decision is yours." The rich, confident inflections of the speaker's voice were reinforced by a self-assured smile that touched the corners of his mouth. "Just don't keep me waiting too long."

A widening of the smile, a slight nod of the head and he was gone, the transmission terminated from his end.

As the grainy pixels of the large communications screen faded to black Ronon Dex's lips curled in disgust. Even across the vastness of space his intense hatred for the speaker had flooded through his body from the moment the familiar face appeared on screen. But while his muscles had tensed, his hands balled into tight fists, he had kept his face devoid of any sign of emotion despite the anger and contempt that continued to grow as he watched the wraith John Sheppard had named Todd.

Although their paths had not crossed for quite some time, the unassailable hatred he felt towards all wraith continued to burn as strongly as ever, and right now it shone most brightly on Todd. Ronon grunted softly. It was a situation unlikely to change until this wraith was dead although he took heart in the thought that, if the fates smiled on him, he would be the one responsible for striking the blow that brought about that death.

But as he turned to look around the Control Room, surveying the faces of the others who had been summoned here when Todd appeared unannounced, Ronan's hatred became infused with a sense of impotent frustration.

Why did this race of humans who had come from another galaxy, a race more powerful than any he had ever met before, a race with the ability to make the city of the Ancestors their own, continue to parley with this creature? Why couldn't they see him for what he really was? They had learned through their own experiences that as a race wraith were intrinsically evil, duplicitous and untrustworthy. They knew too that anything this one offered them, such as the proposal he had just laid out so neatly for their consideration, was going to be missing some small but significant detail.

Yet still they listened and as he watched Woolsey the leader, Sheppard the soldier and McKay the scientist, the three men who would ultimately determine the value, if any, of this proposal Ronon knew exactly how their discussion would go.

Sure there would be debate. Even rigorous debate. Arguments and counterarguments that would see Woolsey and Sheppard's natural caution about the intrinsic dangers of getting involved with such an ill-defined proposition challenged by McKay's science-based advocacy of its benefits. But the result would be the same. In the end they would accept Todd's offer despite the fact that it would involve dealing with a creature who, in Ronon's eyes at least, deserved no respect, no trust and certainly none of the latitude these Atlanteans had shown themselves so willing to extend.

There was no question that he would be a bystander to this conversation. Experience had shown him that in situations like this his thoughts would probably be heard but not really heeded. When it came to dealing with Todd, Ronon knew his time as a runner set him irreparably apart, an outsider with a single-minded view that nothing justified dealing with a Wraith. He also knew this was not what these Atlanteans would want to hear right now.

The idea of simply leaving them to it crossed is mind briefly but a bizarre sense of curiosity he found difficult to understand kept him there. So with a quick look behind him to make sure he couldn't accidentally activate any control buttons, the Satedan just leaned casually against the edge of a console, arms folded, his face still totally expressionless.

"Well, that was unexpected." McKay's words were met with nods of agreement from Woolsey and Sheppard.

Woolsey moved to stand behind the technician who had tracked Todd's hive since it appeared on their monitors several hours earlier and began orbiting a world on the outer edge of the system. Watching a range of conflicting emotions flash across the leader's face, Ronon felt a slight shred of hope they might reject this idea.

"And not very forthcoming with any precise details but would we really expect anything different from Todd?" Woolsey's question was accompanied by a wry smile.

More nods of agreement followed but Ronon continued to watch Woolsey. It was still a mystery to him why they even had a new leader, why Colonel Carter had been recalled to their home world because none of the explanations he'd heard seemed very convincing. To him it was totally illogical. Why replace a leader who was doing a good job, a commanding officer he had come to respect as she showed herself capable of meeting his own standards of leadership, with a man whose previous visits to Atlantis had demonstrated an uneasy relationship with the expedition's key personnel.

Indeed Woolsey was so different to anyone Ronon had ever met before, both here and on Sateda, he found the man impossible to read on anything but the most basic level. Not that he had really made too much of an effort to try for a deeper understanding.

"Yeah, I know, you don't need to tell me we can't trust Todd," Rodney shrugged his shoulders dismissively, "but if he knows where we can get our hands on some ZPMs then we really can't afford not to meet with him to find out more."

"Wait a minute Dr McKay, I don't remember him actually mentioning ZPMs," Woolsey said with a quick look in Sheppard's direction.

Ronon glanced down at his feet to hide a smile. One thing he had learned since Woolsey's arrival was that the former bureaucrat's sense of caution was a more than effective dampener for McKay's confidence and optimism about anything related to his scientific endeavours.

"Okay, no, he didn't," impatience started to infiltrate the scientist's voice, "but what else could it be? Look, think about what he said … information about something that he knows we've been looking for since we got here. He knows we use ZPMs, he knows how many we have and he also knows we'd like more. So what else can it be? Any thoughts?" Rodney raised his eyebrows as he looked around for an answer to this less than subtle challenge. "Anyone?"

But no one seemed in a hurry to answer a for a couple of minutes the only sound in the Control Room was the constant hum of the various pieces of equipment that monitored the life of the city and the galaxy beyond. Finally Sheppard broke the silence but with a question of his own rather than a response to McKay's challenge. "Why?"

Without moving his head Ronon's eyes darted around the room, looking for reactions, before coming to rest on the Colonel. Sheppard's attention was still fixed on the lifeless communications screen, almost as if he were being held captive by some residual image of Todd.

"Why what?" Predictably McKay's impatience was quickly morphing into irritation as the scientist cast an antagonistic look in Sheppard's direction.

"Why now?" Sheppard finally dragged his attention from the screen, folded his arms across his chest and surveyed the faces turned expectantly in his direction before stopping at McKay. "Why would he want to share this with us? Why would he want to hand us something that'd let us increase the fire-power of this city? That enough 'whys' for you to be going on with Rodney?"

Ronon's spirits perked up. He had expected caution from Sheppard but the tone of the questions perhaps indicated something deeper. Indeed these were the very questions he would be asking right now if he thought it would do any good. Could the fact that they were coming from Sheppard possibly signal a subtle shift in attitude towards Todd and his proposals?

"You know what, I knew this'd happen, that I'd have to justify wanting to find out what he's offering. Look I don't have answers to all your 'whys' and you know very well that I don't but I do know that even if it isn't ZPMs we still…" McKay paused momentarily, "…no, actually if he's not talking about ZPMs then it's even more important we find out what he's got."

"Well, I suppose put like that perhaps it's probably worth finding out what he wants. We can certainly demand more information." Woolsey's voice lacked his usual confidence and combined with the strength of Sheppard's opposition, Ronon started to wonder if perhaps this decision might not be as clear cut as he'd originally thought.

Sheppard grunted. "Maybe. But what if it is a trap? It's been quite some time since we heard anything from Todd, who knows what he's been up to? The only thing we know for sure is that he uses us to further his own ambitions, to date he's done that without causing us too much damage but we've got no guarantee things are always going to work out that way. Our own intel is showing this civil war is getting more deadly, what if he's decided to use his knowledge of us and Atlantis to help progress his cause amongst the Wraith?"

"I agree," Woolsey nodded his head to confirm his support. "Colonel Sheppard has a very valid point. I don't know Todd as well as you all do but I have no doubt he wouldn't have too many hesitations about sacrificing the relationship, and I use that word loosely, he has with us for his own advantage, especially if he's playing for high stakes."

"I know, I know," McKay nodded, "he could be going to finally double cross us but what if this really can deliver us something useful…"

"Which brings us right back to my original questions Rodney," declared Sheppard.

McKay shook his head. "Yes, questions that I've already said I can't answer." A sudden drop of the scientist's shoulders telegraphed a different approach to the conversation. "Come on, all we have to do is meet with him, we don't have to agree to anything and he's offered to come here so that'll minimise any danger to us."

"Dr McKay, I don't believe having a hive orbiting above the city can be described as minimising the danger." Woolsey followed this admonishment with a sigh of resignation. "But weighing up both sides of the argument I think we probably do need to explore his proposal further. If Todd is up to something I'd prefer to know what it is sooner rather than later." A thoughtful frown crossed his face. "Has the hive moved since the transmission ended?"

Ronon rolled his eyes. This was it, they were going to acquiesce to this half-explained proposal even quicker than he'd anticipated. Sheppard might still have some concerns but Ronon doubted they would be enough to deter them from meeting Todd.

Finally he saw little point in keeping his thoughts to himself any longer. "Of course he hasn't moved, he doesn't need to, he knows you're going to accept otherwise he wouldn't have wasted his time coming here. You're going to do exactly what he expects you to do but you know what, count me out, I've worked with that Wraith for the last time."

With nothing more to say he left the room without a backward glance, well aware of the looks that were being cast in his direction. Let them look. Perhaps he didn't really belong here after all, perhaps this was the catalyst he needed to make a break and look for people who understood and shared his hatred of wraith. People he could really trust to make the right decisions.

_**x-X-x**_

=_They are unsure and do not trust us yet you are sure they will help us?_=

The Second's confusion about the conversation he had just witnessed between his Commander and the humans of Atlantis cut across Todd's thoughts as he turned away from the external communications monitor. The response to his proposal had been as he expected, particularly from Dr McKay but this confusion from his lieutenant was not surprising, in fact given the underling's lack of understanding about the nuances of dealing with these humans it was only to be expected. Competent though he was, like all wraith he lacked any personal experience of dealing with the Atlanteans so it was only natural that his reading of the exchange would gave no clues as to what might be fuelling his leader's obvious satisfaction.

Todd huffed thoughtfully to himself before answering. He had earmarked this Wraith to take the role of his lieutenant well before the precisely executed coup that had seen the demise of the former Commander and Second. Once appointed he had quickly proved that his loyalty was beyond reproach but naturally he adopted a more conventional attitude to the Atlanteans than his Commander. To him they were a risk, a nuisance that needed to be neutralised as effectively as possible rather than an ally who should be allowed access to the fruits of wraith intelligence gathering.

=_Of course they do not trust us, just as we don't trust them,_= Todd paused briefly, stopping in front of another monitor to check data about the world they were currently orbiting, =_b__ut in the end, after they have argued among themselves, they will accept because, despite their continuous threats and bravado, they are afraid my proposal might be of some value, might give me an advantage I could use against them._=

A far more comprehensive response than was needed but as the Second nodded his head, Todd sensed more questions. Moving closer he watched through narrowed eyes as a new wave of uncertainty sweep across the underling's face.

=_And the Guardians, Commander, what of them?_=

A slight wave of some tension, not as strong as fear, filled the space between them. Something Todd did not welcome in his Second. Instinctively his hands flexed, allowing some of his growing annoyance to dissipate before he answered.

=_The Guardians were nothing but myth. Illusions created by the Lanteans during the War to counter the victory we were close to achieving._=

=_But Commander if they are not…_=

=_Enough!_= Finally unable to control his nascent anger, Todd followed the admonishment with a deep, aggressive growl.

His plan was well-thought out, well-mapped in his mind but he would not be pushed into sharing it before he was ready. He trusted his officers but still at the back of his mind lingered the doubt all Commanders lived with that once his underlings understood his ultimate aim, they might think themselves better able to bring it to fruition. Besides so many questions were starting to grate on the intrinsic enjoyment he always got from bantering with the Atlanteans. The time had come to end this conversation. =_Perhaps it is not the involvement of the Atlanteans we should be discussing, perhaps your own commitment to this project will leave us vulnerable to mistakes…_=

The sentence went unfinished, the question unasked as the Second took the rare risk of cutting across his Commander's words. =_No, you have no reason to doubt my loyalty Commander._=

=_A wise decision._= A slight nod of his head accompanied Todd's response as he turned to leave. =_We will remain here until the Atlanteans respond. I will be in the main laboratory going through the data and energy readings._=

Of course there was a good chance he would not make it all the way down to the bay before that response came but he wanted time alone. Time to think about the role in his plan he had assigned John Sheppard's team, to make sure he had considered all possible outcomes and perhaps most importantly calculated all possible risks.

_**x-X-x**_

As he got further away from the Control Room, Ronon's anger and confusion gradually receded, pushed to one side by the reality of his situation. Atlantis was his home and he had spent too long roaming the galaxy as a runner to even think about looking for a new one.

But his verbal outburst had left a residue of energy that could only be spent in a physical work-out so after a quick pause in the middle of a corridor, he turned towards to the exercise rooms. It was a pity Teyla was away visiting the Athosians but someone was bound to be down there although Ronon doubted that their skill in hand-to-hand combat would be up to the standard he needed for a proper work-out.

"Ronon, wait."

The words surprised him and he immediately felt annoyed he had slowed down enough to allow a pursuer to get this close. But despite the authority vested in the request, or perhaps because of it, he just kept walking until a restraining hand was placed on his arm. Ronon stopped and spun round to face Sheppard. Even though the hand was immediately lifted, if this were anyone else he would have responded by hitting out but he knew that would serve little purpose here. There was nothing to do but tell Sheppard again where he stood.

"You know how I feel. I won't work with this wraith again so you're wasting your time if you want to change my mind."

Sheppard's eyes narrowed as he considered this declaration but Ronon knew he wouldn't just walk away.

"You're an important part of my team Ronon, if we do meet with Todd I want you there." Sheppard paused to look up and down the corridor and Ronan sensed he was searching for exactly the right words to use. "Look I how you feel about him, I don't trust him either and would like nothing more than to tell him what he can do with this idea and finish him off for good. But truth is we have much bigger considerations here, if McKay is right, if Todd can deliver some more ZPMs then we have to follow-up on this."

Ronon just shook his head. "Working with a wraith is wrong and dangerous, your relationship with him is wrong. You think you control it, think you hold the upper hand but no human, no matter how strong or smart they think they are, is ever going to control a wraith. And giving him a name isn't going make him any different."

"I don't have a relationship with him." Sheppard's denial was loud but still managed to sound half hearted.

"Call it what you like, he comes here and you end up doing what he wants. You know how he works, how he manipulates but I bet Woolsey is still up there right now making contact again."

An answer wasn't needed, the look that crossed Sheppard's face said it all. Ronon huffed in disgust as he turned to continue the walk to the exercise areas but before he went too far he stopped to throw a quick glance over his shoulder.

"Next time I see that wraith it'll be to kill him so don't bother me again until you decide that's the way you want to deal with him too."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Todd stepped from his shuttle onto the wide open space of the landing deck on Atlantis and paused to wait for his Second and his Chief Scientist to join him. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cool air. It was still early morning, just before sunrise, the time Wraith preferred to leave the dark, nurturing environment of their hives to step foot on human worlds, the time when they could complete their business before the pink rays of the rising sun began to generate the searing brightness and warmth they preferred to avoid.

A soft breeze twisted its way through his hair and the vibrant damp saltiness of the air infiltrated his finely-tuned senses as he surveyed the small band of human drones who had been sent to meet him. No sign of John Sheppard or the one with whom he had negotiated the location of this meeting, the one called Richard Woolsey. He growled softly, a mix of vague disappointment and a mild sense of affront that they had not deemed it necessary to come down here themselves.

Perhaps they were annoyed that he had insisted on coming to Atlantis. They had wanted to come to him, to meet on his hive but he had offered to come here in the first place as a show of trust and it would not suit his purpose to change that approach.

So he had resisted their demands. It was vital that he retain control over this process of negotiating an alliance to undertake his proposed expedition and acquiescing at the first instance, even though it was only over something as trivial as the location for their initial meeting, would have reduced his authority.

Turning to survey the scenery he took another long, slow, deep breath, drawing the crisp fresh air past his hypersensitive olfactory organs and was instantly reminded of how much he enjoyed the myriad of scents that existed outside the recycled atmosphere of the hive. And it was especially enjoyable on occasions like this when those scents were also rich with human fear and trepidation.

Tilting his head slightly he also sensed trepidation from the two underlings who now stood just behind him although in their case it was based on a reluctance to accept that it was necessary to deal with these humans let alone come to their lair. But he was also pleased to sense something else growing in these two minds, particularly the scientist, an inquisitiveness that mirrored the curiosity he had felt the first time he stepped foot in this city, a desire to learn as much as possible about these humans who were able to use the technology of the Lanteans.

All things considered Todd felt supremely confident. Although he had visited Atlantis a number of times, this was the first time he had arrived by his own shuttle and with his hive orbiting above he knew he would be leaving the way. There would be no opportunity for a second hive to turn up to challenge and destroy his own ship this time leaving him a prisoner at the mercy of his hosts. And the fact that Sheppard's humans had agreed to meet him meant they were already irrevocably drawn into a web of his making from which there would be no early escape.

A human stepped forward, one whose scents were familiar although Todd was unable to put a name to the face. When the human spoke his voice carried the slight tremor of bravado that these creatures from another galaxy wore like a protective coat when dealing with wraith.

"Colonel Sheppard and Mr Woolsey are waiting for you." Not anticipating a response the human turned immediately, obviously expecting the three visitors to follow without question, while the other drones stood with their weapons armed waiting to follow the visitors into the city.

Todd grunted quietly but remained standing at the foot of the shuttle ramp. He was familiar enough with human protocols to know that being met by an underling was a slight to his position and his initial sense of affront caused by Sheppard and Woolsey's absence returned and deepened. It was bad enough that a junior officer was here in their place but this subordinate should have at least provided his name plus his words were laced with a level of disrespect Todd found objectionable.

"We have met before?" It was a rhetorical question and as his powerful voice echoed across the landing deck the human stopped and turned back. "What is your name?"

The underling's eyes scanned his troupe of drones before he answered. "I'm Major Lorne and yes we have met before."

Todd nodded thoughtfully. He was in no mood to be deliberately awkward but felt it necessary to demonstrate some small sign that would indicate his displeasure with this welcome.

"Ah yes, I remember." His eyes flickered towards the tall towers that lay ahead. "Where is Colonel Sheppard?"

"Like I said, he's waiting for you with Mr Woolsey."

Lorne moved to turn away again but Todd was beginning to enjoy this little match and was not yet ready to let the Major off the hook. "So we are not considered important enough for him to welcome himself?"

Again Lorne shifted his gaze to his men and Todd began to sense the growing unease as it infiltrated the human's mind.

"He was off-world … on a mission and only just got back."

A lie and not a very creative one at that. Todd immediately sensed the subtle but unique scents that he had come to associate with humans' discomfort with dissembling. A slight smile crossed his lips, such sensitivities were not a problem that afflicted wraith and he found it a rather naively charming trait in these creatures.

"Very well." His words carried an unmistakeable air of finality that he confirmed by starting to walk towards Lorne, his eyes fixed firmly on the city that was their destination.

Lorne's continuing discomfort told Todd that his point had been made and if he knew anything about human behaviour, it would certainly be passed on to Sheppard. While dealing with humans who held the Major's level of authority was nothing but a game, like all wraith, Todd was of no mind to be bested by such an inferior being.

**_x-X-x_**

Ronon watched the wraith shuttle touch down from the window of his quarters but he had known they were close long before it appeared like a black, malevolent, predatory bird out of the clear blue early morning sky. He did not have the wraith DNA that gave Teyla her ability to sense the closeness of these creatures, to reach out and infiltrate their minds. For him it was a skill that had been learned in order to survive, the product of his years on the run when he honed his senses to a level few humans ever needed to attain.

Contempt spread across his face as he watched the three tall black-clad figures follow Lorne and his contingent back towards the city but he did not stay to watch their progress for long. Instead he went and lay down on his unmade bed, his arms folded behind his head as he replayed the rather one-sided conversation with John Sheppard that had ended only minutes earlier.

He had already been awake, albeit only just, taking his body through the series of long, intense stretches that were the first part of his morning ritual when he had heard footsteps stop outside his door. Instinctively he had rolled over to sit on the side of his bed, muscles tensed, waiting for the expected knock but it did not come immediately. In fact there was the sound of a short retreat before the visitor returned and rapped quietly on the door. It was far too early for social calls so Ronon had known exactly who had chosen to interrupt his solitude and why. Of course, he could have feigned sleep but he was known to be an early riser. Besides this visitor knew him far too well and was far too astute to be fooled by such a ploy.

John Sheppard had opened the door slowly, pausing to look around and at least having the good grace to look slightly awkward as he apologised. "Sorry to bother you so early Ronon," he finally stepped into the room closing the door behind him, "but we've got this meeting with Todd happening soon and I'd just like you to have another think about being there."

"Why?"

Sheppard had still looked uncomfortable. "Why? Because I…"

"You won't listen to anything I say."

The brief flicker in Sheppard's eyes had confirmed the truth of this statement even though Ronon had known he would never get a spoken affirmation.

"That's not true, you make important contributions when we have things to talk about, decision to make." Ronon had been pleased to see that Sheppard at least had the decency not to look him in the eye while making this statement.

"Yeah, when we're talking about military tactics, about the best way to deal with irritating pests like the Genii."

"You're an important…"

"…part of your team. Yeah, so you keep telling me"

A look of exasperation had flashed across Sheppard's face as he folded his arms across his chest. "You're not going to make this easy for me are you?"

Ronon had not even tried to contain the laugh that rose in his throat but didn't follow it up with an explanation, preferring instead to remain silent watching the obvious conflict that was guiding Sheppard's behaviour. At that point it had started to become clear that Sheppard was acting on Woolsey's orders and that personally he was actually quite happy to keep Ronon away from the meeting.

"Look, there are bigger issues in play here than your dislike of Todd. I don't trust him either and would far rather we weren't doing this but the bottom line is we don't really have a choice, we have to at least listen to what he has to say. You know we've got a lot of important technology from other races in our own galaxy through the Stargate Program so if we can get our hands on something valuable here then we have to at least take a look. Besides the IOA want us to follow-up on it so that kinda seals the issue."

It had been a logical argument but Ronon had not been prepared to let go so easily. "Even if it means dealing with creatures that'll think nothing of double-crossing you and leaving you dead if it suits their purpose."

"I've already said I'm not doing this because I want to," Sheppard had paused and frowned as he decided which way to take this conversation, "but you know what Ronon, you've made your decision and that's okay but life isn't as simple, as black and white for the rest of us. I wish it was but we have the future of this city to consider and if meeting with Todd and agreeing with what he has to offer will help safeguard that future then that's the way it's got to be."

With that the conversation had ended, Sheppard had left without another word and Ronon had moved over to the window to watch the wraiths' arrival.

Now, as he lay on his bed, a part of him wanted to hear what would be said in the Conference Room even if it was only to give him ammunition to persuade Sheppard not to get involved. He started to sit up but then stopped and leaned back on an elbow. To make an appearance now would undermine his own position and he was not prepared to do that, especially when Todd would be there ready to gloat over any sign of weakness.

**_x-X-x_**

Taking his seat at the large table in this place the Atlanteans called the Conference Room, Todd found his mind wandering unbidden through the city. Weaving and turning along familiar paths to spaces that evoked a mixed range of reactions. The cold, hard solitude of the Brig where he had spent far too much time as John Sheppard's prisoner contrasted sharply with the intellectual stimulation he had enjoyed in the laboratory working with Dr McKay as they tried to re-engineer the computer virus needed to neutralise the Replicators.

Overall though it had been a difficult time for him, isolated from the voices of his brothers as the gnawing pain of hunger had eventually started to take its toll on him physically and mentally. But he had survived and, as had so often been the case during his long life when faced with a challenge, he had managed to turn the whole episode to his own advantage. The technology of the Lanteans had been at his fingertips and he'd had no qualms about gathering intelligence from under his captors' noses safe in the knowledge that they were totally ignorant of his clandestine activities.

He chuckled softly. Interesting as it was to remember this subterfuge, he was not here to indulge in reminiscences so placing his hands on the table and shifting slightly in his chair he brought his attention back to deal with the present situation.

All the humans seated at the table were familiar to him and as he surveyed the faces turned in his direction he sensed varying degrees of anxiety and expectation about what would unfold during this meeting. But there was one obvious absentee, the one member of Sheppard's team against whom Todd found it very difficult to control his personal animosity.

"Where is the Satedan? Not injured or unwell I hope?" Todd had sensed the brooding animosity lingering in some distant location even before his shuttle had touched down so he made no effort to hide the sarcasm in his voice. But something was going on and the look that passed between Sheppard and Woolsey tweaked his interest even further. There was some tension here that he could afford to take a few minutes to probe.

Looks exchanged, it was Sheppard who finally answered the question. "He's got other things to do but don't worry he's around."

"Oh yes," Todd leaned back in his chair, "I know he is on Atlantis, I just find it strange that he's not in his usual spot Sheppard, sitting obediently by your side waiting to do your bidding, waiting to protect you if I happened to be foolish enough to make an aggressive move towards you."

"I sure as hell don't need protection. He'll be here when we need him, don't worry yourself about that."

"Indeed, as I said he can always be guaranteed to obey, to follow without questioning the logic or wisdom behind your orders."

A cough from Richard Woolsey broke the growing tension and brought everyone's attention back to the reason for the meeting. "When you're ready I'd like to hear more about this proposal of yours."

"Of course." Todd shot a quick smile at Sheppard before returning to his broader audience. "As your own intelligence gathering has no doubt told you, the war you so clumsily set in motion is escalating, becoming more unpredictable." A nod of heads confirmed this assumption. "Good, so I won't bore you with the details then. What is important here is the fact that I recently persuaded another smaller but significant alliance that it would be in their best interests to join forces with my own alliance..."

"Yeah, right," Sheppard's ironic smile was at odds with the harsh realities underpinning Todd's story, "and I bet you gave them more choices than they knew what to do with."

Todd's eyes narrowed to slitted pinpoints of gold and black, his mouth set in a similar narrow line as he put his head back slightly while considering Sheppard's words. Well-versed as he was in the Atlantean's sarcasm, he still took a moment to consider if it was worthwhile responding in-kind or simply ignoring the less that subtle barb. He chose to ignore it.

"...which naturally, increased the territory we now claim as our own." An equally ironic smile was cast back in Sheppard's direction. "I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I have had a number of successful negotiations lately and increasingly fewer of the smaller alliances are showing themselves willing to challenge my authority outright." As expected Todd found the flash of concern that appeared in Sheppard's eyes was well worth the effort of temporarily taking the conversation away from the main theme he wanted to pursue but he took only momentary pleasure in his victory.

Another cough from Woolsey again broke the rising tension and Todd cast a quick look at the faces turned expectantly in his direction before continuing.

"It is common practise when taking over new territory to do an extensive assessment of each world, surveying the physical landscape and auditing any human resources." Pausing momentarily, expecting a comment from Sheppard, Todd looked off into the middle distance but when the only response was a gasp from the female called Keller he again continued his story. "On one of the worlds that recently came under our control we discovered something very interesting, something of Lantean origin that had obviously been dormant since they left the galaxy rather than face defeat. I sent a team down to investigate but they were unable to enter the facility."

"Of course," As McKay snapped his fingers Todd smiled. Just as he had anticipated, the excitement he could sense being generated by the scientist would make him an invaluable ally in getting agreement to this plan. "Even after all this time Lantean technology would see you for what you are, wraith, enemies to be destroyed at all costs. So did you lose anyone?"

Todd nodded. "A couple of drones were injured beyond their abilities to heal but they were acceptable losses when gauged against what I believe this facility has to offer, the benefits it might still provide." Todd glanced at his Chief Scientist before lowering his voice and focussing his attention on McKay. "The energy readings being generated by the facility are unlike anything we have ever seen before, both during the Lantean War and at any time since. We have analysed them using a number of processes and formulae," Todd paused to allow his words to sink in, "and based on the results of this analysis Dr McKay, if I had to make a guess in the absence of supporting evidence, I would say this facility houses the laboratories where the Lanteans researched, developed and perhaps even constructed their ZPMs."

"Hang about, if this is what you say it is why haven't you wraith found it before?" Sheppard's words cut across the scientific camaraderie Todd was trying to develop with McKay so he simply glanced quickly at the Colonel before bringing his attention back to the humans he knew he needed to convince, McKay and Woolsey, in order to answer the question.

"Why would we want to find it? The Lanteans were beaten, driven from the galaxy, their technologies were vastly different to our own and while we had developed our cloning facility to operate using their ZPMs it was a long, difficult task that required many resources and did not come without some losses. Why would we bother again once the war was won and the Lanteans no longer posed a threat? In the millennia that have passed since the war we have lived in harmony with our environment, managing our resources, sharing those technological advances we still needed to develop just in case a threat ever arose to challenge our dominance. It is only since you arrived in this galaxy, since this civil war started to destroy my kind that finding this facility became something I actively considered. Since my alliance has grown I have started looking for such places but this is the first success I have had."

McKay laughed. "But you need us. You need us to get inside and you'll need us to help in other places where the Lanteans might have put in mechanisms to keep out intruders or keep you from getting your hands on their technology?"

A long, deep growl resonated deep in Todd's chest but was audible only to the two Wraith sitting either side of him. When he responded his voice carried its usual deep timbre. "Need is such an undignified word Dr McKay, I prefer to see this as a joint venture, something that will deliver benefits to us both. You get the access to ZPM technology that you have long wanted while I get access to data that will allow me to bring together wraith and Lantean technology to develop a source of power that will make my hives more powerful than those of the other large alliances."

A stark laugh from Sheppard broke into the conversation. "And allow you to take control of the wraith."

"Someone will eventually take control John Sheppard, would you not prefer it to be someone that you know? Someone who might be prepared to consider your continuing presence here rather than someone who would not be happy until he had hunted you out of the galaxy like your Lantean forebearers?"

"Yes, that's probably true, you're probably the best option," Woolsey's short assessment was full of bureaucratic caution, "and there's no denying this is a generous offer but tell me once you've beaten down all the other wraith alliances, what's to stop you from turning on us?"

Todd smiled and shook his head. Perhaps he had underestimated Woolsey's ability to think strategically. "Absolutely nothing. You'll just have to trust me. But bear in mind that the equilibrium of the galaxy will be restored, wraith will again hibernate, although never again in a way that will leave us vulnerable to human intervention, human worlds will prosper and grow unless, of course, you ever felt the need to interfere again."

Aware he was entering dangerous ground Todd stopped and looked around the table. He was effectively telling the Atlanteans that they would have no option other than to stand back while wraith continued culling humans but as he sensed the anger growing in Sheppard he also sensed the pragmatism of Woolsey's mind.

"Well I think we all agree that you controlling all the wraith alliances is still a long way off but, based on what you've told us, this immediate proposal sounds promising. Before we agree to help though I want a guarantee that you've told us everything and that you won't try to change the terms of any agreement at a later date." Woolsey spoke with authority and an accompanying look of warning towards Sheppard.

"Very well, you have my word, I will not try to change anything." It was a guarantee Todd was prepared to give because despite his innate confidence that he would succeed here, the whole process of getting the Atlanteans to agree had actually been easier than he had anticipated.

"Then you have our agreement." Woolsey leaned back in his chair ignoring the looks that Sheppard was throwing in his direction.

Remembering back to the previous agreement he had made here with Woolsey's predecessor, the very efficient Colonel Carter, Todd nodded and smiled. "Very well, I won't trouble you with another offer to shake hands on this partnership." Without waiting for a reply he turned his attention from the bureaucrat to the soldier. "Now, Colonel Sheppard, it would be better if we travelled to this world in some of your small craft, 'puddle jumpers' I believe you call them, using the Lantean gates. My hive will remain here."

"Oh no it won't," Sheppard's voice carried a tone Todd recognised as fear even though he knew the Colonel would reject such an idea, "there's no way I'm leaving Atlantis with a big, bright, flashing neon sign overhead to attract other hives here like bees to a honey pot."

Todd laughed knowing full well the humans seated at the table would be disturbed by such a display. "Oh you have no need to worry about that happening Colonel."

"Yeah, right, I've taken your word for things like this before only to find myself up to my neck in crap."

"You have no need to doubt my word this time John Sheppard." Todd's face took on a mask of satisfaction as he purred encouragingly. "This world now forms part of the territory controlled by my alliance, part of our feeding grounds so you can consider yourselves quite safe." He turned his attention to include Woolsey. "At least for as long as we continue to have a shared understanding of what is the best outcome for this war."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ronon had perfected the art of watching during his time as a runner. By necessity remaining aloof from the company of others, his methods, motives and aims were pretty clear cut when he did approach a human settlement. Try to scope out its resources to make sure they had what he needed, observe their daily routines before making contact to ensure he would attract minimal attention and reduce the chance of Wraith tracking him there.

But now as he stood just outside the locker room where Sheppard and Lorne's teams were kitting up ready to go on this mission with Todd, a range of conflicting emotions raced through his mind. Was Sheppard right? Was he putting his own negative feelings toward the wraith above the long-term future of Atlantis?

This was his team, people he had risked his life to protect, people who had risked their lives for him and now, after considering this mission more fully, he almost felt as if he was turning his back on them. Did Sheppard feel the same? He frowned, so many unanswered questions. Well one thing was certain, he was not going to find any answers standing there watching so he stepped into the room just as the teams were finishing their preparation.

Surprisingly McKay was the first one finished but Ronon just put it down to his enthusiasm for the project. The scientist smiled when he recognised the identity of the newcomer.

"Hey, Ronon, so you've decided to join the fun after all? Let me tell you I'll feel much better having you along." As usual McKay's motivation was primarily grounded in self-survival.

Ronon grunted. "I thought you were all in for agreeing with Todd's half-baked plan?"

"Of course I am, this could be huge, the biggest discovery we've made here in Pegasus … if we can learn how the Ancients produced ZPMs, I mean we know how they work but if we can actually find out how they built them, I…"

"Yeah, we get the idea Rodney, you're excited." The flat tone of Sheppard's voice reflected the pressure he was carrying into this mission, pressure that went way beyond scientific discoveries.

"Yes, I am and as I was saying I would've thought the benefits of having unlimited access to ZPMs would be obvious to everyone, just think of what we could do with that sort of energy capacity at our fingertips…" Noticing that Sheppard was probably about to interrupt him again McKay made a strategic decision to change tack. "But of course I know there are risks involved with anything that involves Todd which is why I said it'd be good to have Ronon along too."

Moving to take a seat on one of the long slatted wooden benches that filled the middle of the room, Ronon remained quiet, his attention fixed on Sheppard as team members gradually filtered out, heading towards the Dart Bay where Todd and his party were already waiting to board the jumpers. It was clear from the needless adjustments Sheppard was making to his equipment that he knew what was afoot and was deliberately hanging back until the last straggler had left.

Once they were alone he sat down opposite Ronon before asking the obvious question. "So is Rodney right, have you decided to come along?"

But while the words were positive, Ronon sensed an undercurrent that was distinctly less encouraging. "You don't want me along?" Experience had taught him there was nothing to be gained from pulling punches where Sheppard was concerned.

An answer didn't come immediately. Sheppard looked down quickly at the pack that was sitting beside him on the bench but he wasn't quick enough to hide the grimace that crossed his face, a grimace that told of the conflict being played out in his mind. "Look…" Another hesitation, only momentary, just long enough to tell Ronon all he needed to know but he allowed Sheppard to have his say anyway. "…I'm going to be honest with you here … I'd rather not have you there." Sheppard returned his gaze to Ronon's face. "We're going to be working pretty closely with Todd and his wraith. We don't know how it's going to go and I sure as hell don't want you suddenly deciding it would be a good time to settle your issues with him."

Ronon looked over towards the window. This locker room was one of several scattered through the city but it was the only one located below the city's waterline. Standing as he considered Sheppard's words, Ronon walked over to watch the rays of the sun reflecting through the water. "I can control my feelings toward him, towards them all."

"Maybe you think you can but it's not that easy. We'll be out on an unknown world, dealing with an unknown facility that sounds like it's got problems of its own." Sheppard shook his head. "Look, I know the animosity between you doesn't all come from your side, I've watched him go out of his way to needle you so until we know what we're dealing with here I'd just as soon keep you out of it."

Grudgingly Ronon knew Sheppard was right. It was easy to stand here and say he could control his dislike of Todd, of all Wraith, but it would be a different matter when they were face-to-face and he certainly wouldn't like to be leading a team that included a pair of trigger-happy antagonists.

"So how many men are you taking?"

Turning away from the window, Ronon noticed Sheppard's eyes narrow in momentary confusion, a clear indication that he'd expected more resistance rather than this change of tack but his relief was evident when he spoke. "Two puddle jumpers, Lorne's team, my team, an extra detachment of marines plus Todd and his Chief Scientist with a few drones thrown in for good measure."

Ronon silently tallied the numbers as Sheppard spoke, it would be a cosy journey in the jumpers. "Why the drones? You said the facility is only dangerous to wraith, I thought the whole idea of having you along was to neutralise that danger. Why do you need to take armed wraith with you?"

Sheppard just shrugged. "One of Todd's conditions."

"So you're letting him dictate conditions now?" Ronon made no attempt to keep the scorn out of his voice.

"No, well, not really, it was a compromise. Despite the guarantee that his hive wouldn't be likely to attract any surprise visitors wondering what they're up to, Woolsey was still nervous so Todd agreed to move it back to the outer edges of the system. But he wanted something in return…"

Ronon grunted. "What a surprise."

"Hey," Sheppard shrugged his shoulders and smiled, more as a sign that the situation was beyond his control than an indication of humour, "Rodney isn't the only one excited about the prospect of getting his hands on the basics of ZPM technology, the IOA didn't hesitate to agree when Woolsey reported Todd's proposal to them. Besides we don't actually have a map with this facility neatly marked, we need him to take us there so a little compromise was our only option. He wanted to bring more but we trimmed it down to six."

"That's six too many but I suppose you know what you're doing."

Finally Sheppard's smile rang true. "Well thanks for the vote of confidence. Don't you go getting too comfortable though, I'll expect you to lead the cavalry if we get into trouble."

"What?" Ronon looked confused. "What's the cavalry?"

"Never mind," Sheppard threw over his shoulder as he left the room, "When we get back Rodney and I'll show you a movie that'll explain everything."

_**x-X-x**_

The auras of long dead Lanteans immediately infiltrated the wraiths' minds as they stepped aboard the puddle jumper for the trip with Sheppard's team. Atlantis was awash with such spirits too, essences that lingered like silent but harmless sentinels trapped forever in the spaces they occupied in life. For Todd they were particularly powerful because out of the four wraith on the jumper he was the only one who had known the Lanteans, to have had contact, albeit as enemies, with the owners of these ethereal auras when they walked this galaxy.

The wraith were split between the two craft so three of his faceless warriors sat in the rear of this jumper, their backs straight, their weapons resting across their knees waiting to obey their commander's orders. As Todd took the place that had been allocated to him, sitting immediately behind John Sheppard, he sensed the discomfort being caused by their presence here. Still it was only a short trip and he was well used to the ill-ease that his own presence always generated around humans, he had never worried about calming such fears before and saw no reason to start now.

Something did interest him though, the fact that yet again the Satedan was not present. Why? Asking Sheppard would probably only elicit the same response that had been given earlier in the Conference Room but having the former runner missing from a meeting where he had little to contribute was very different to his absence from this mission.

"Where is the Satedan?" The question was couched in a deliberately disinterested tone.

"Ronon, his name is Ronon."

Todd merely grunted in response. He was prepared to use the names these Atlanteans considered so important but the Satedan was not one of them and he had been a runner, a creature who was hunted for sport, a status that rendered him undeserving of such consideration. So he simply repeated his question. "Where is the Satedan?"

Sheppard kept his eyes fixed on the controls as he navigated the craft down the narrow shaft from the Jumper Bay into the Gate Room but his voice was testy and his response short. "I told him not to come, I don't have either the time or the energy to waste keeping you two apart."

A soft growl and a thoughtful nod of his head were Todd's only response to this explanation. So the former runner was not trusted to keep a rein on his hatred of wraith. He liked to think that his own animosity was based on a lack of respect but he had to admit the runner's overt displays of hatred acted as a spur to his own feelings, getting under his skin and forcing him to take an equally aggressive attitude. Sheppard was probably right though. While he usually channelled this aggression into baiting the Satedan and not taking a backward step whenever they came face-to-face, he would have no qualms whatsoever dealing with the human on a more permanent basis should the need arise.

Any lingering thoughts about how to achieve this result faded as the jumper entered the gate on Atlantis and when they emerged at the other end he immediately refocused on the mission ahead. This gate orbited high above their destination, a smallish planet with patches of dark green visible through breaks in sweeping banks of swirling green tinged cloud patterns.

As they began their steady descent through the atmosphere the cabin was filled with human banter. The nervous anticipation echoing through their voices was obvious and for once Todd shared a similar feeling. This mission held the key to his bid to take control of all wraith factions. While there was much to be gained, there was also much to be lost and he needed the help of humans to succeed, not a natural situation from which he could draw any comfort.

So he just closed his eyes and contented himself with half-listening to the buzz of words until it was broken by the sudden activation of some monitors on McKay's side of the control panel and an accompanying cacophony of sounds.

"What the hell is that Rodney?"

Todd knew exactly what it was even though they were still a long way from the coordinates for the facility that he had personally programmed into the jumper's navigation system before they left Atlantis.

"Energy readings…" McKay's hands moved quickly across the control panel trying to silence the noise that was quickly becoming very annoying.

"Of course they are energy readings." Todd found it difficult to understand why they would expect anything else. "If you care to remember, I did tell you that we initially located this facility by the energy readings that were unlike anything we'd ever seen before. Even though this ship is small and it's equipment is less powerful than that we used on the hive, it is a Lantean ship so it is not surprising that it is also picking up such readings. In fact from what I can see it is far more sensitive to the energy fields than our monitors which again is to be expected. But at least now you have proof I was telling the truth."

Of course the final barb was unnecessary and provocative so Todd was pleased when it elicited a response from its target. "Yeah, I always feel better when I see some actual proof to back-up your little schemes."

Todd merely laughed softly but his satisfaction with this little exercise in Sheppard-baiting was short lived as he recognised familiar terrain ahead and the cold hand of apprehension briefly touched his mind. He had never enjoyed ventures that failed and lingering memories of the disastrous first visit to this facility were forced to the forefront of his mind as the jumper banked and he caught site of the mound in the landscape that signalled their destination.

But he refused to allow such thoughts to derail this new venture. "There is an area of flat ground a short walk from the facility where you will be able to land Sheppard but you will need to approach it from the other direction, from along that ridge ahead."

"It all looks pretty overgrown," McKay's narrowed eyes scanned the landscape, "without these readings it'd be impossible to find."

"Indeed," Todd nodded in agreement, "it was a deliberate ploy by the Lanteans to build important facilities to blend in with the landscape just in case we ever stumbled across them. You should also take into account a further ten thousand years of neglect."

"Yeah, but we use Lantean technology, how come we've never found anything like this before?"

Todd growled. Sheppard's continued scepticism about his motives was becoming tedious.

"Rather than indicating some continuing duplicity on my part Sheppard, I would say your failure merely proves how successful the Lantean's strategy has been. Or perhaps the failure has been yours, perhaps you have just never looked in the right places? Now I suggest you focus your attention on getting us on the ground safely, the landing area is only small, it not an easy approach and you will need all your skills to achieve a successful outcome."

_**x-X-x**_

It was a forested world but one far different from the stereotypical worlds that supported human populations in the Pegasus galaxy.

Most noticeably different were the trees, tall and straight with smooth silver trunks zigzagged with fine etchings that looked like the ramblings of some half-crazed insect. Branches did not start to appear from these forest giants until high above the ground forming a semi-canopy layer through which limited amounts of sunlight forced their way to the ground, long straight rays of life beaming through the dim light. Long tendrils hung down from many of the trees and the sounds that echoed above the visitors' heads spoke of an abundance of invisible wildlife.

Vegetation lower down was thicker than would usually be expected in such subdued light indicating a rich concentration of nutrients in the soft ground beneath their feet. Smaller trees with broad, flat, shiny leaves formed a secondary level while tall palms and ferns flourished on the forest floor. Presenting in a range of different leaf formations the sight of them was almost breathtakingly beautiful. Some were tough and spiky while others were softer with fine needle-like fronds that broke as the visitors brushed past them leaving sprays of green on their clothes.

The weather was different too. Despite the clouds visible on approach, the sky here was clear. So with the sun sitting high in the sky it was hot, steamy and quite oppressive to humans and wraith alike especially as they began the journey to the facility along the narrow path the wraith had cleared on their last visit.

Two of Todd's drones who had been part of that original exploration party were given the task of leading the way accompanied by some of the additional marines. Sheppard, McKay, Todd and his Chief Scientist led the other drones with Lorne's team bring up the rear. As the trail took them down a slight slope, across a slow meandering stream and up a steeper hill it didn't take Todd long to remember how uncomfortable leather clothing was in such environments. But at least he wasn't being troubled by the swarms of insects of varying sizes that seemed to be causing Dr McKay considerable concern.

"These small creatures seem to find you quite attractive Dr McKay."

"You've got that right, they always have, you know whenever our family went away during summer if anyone was going to get stung by a bee or bitten by a mosquito you can bet your last dollar it'd be me, they never touched my sister even though she was far more adventurous than me, went into far more remote places than me." It was about then that Todd regretted commenting on the insects while McKay executed yet another slap to remove a couple of the offending beasts from his exposed neck. "I've yet to come across an insect I like plus they can carry some really nasty diseases, and I bet these ones are carrying things we've never even come across before."

"Indeed." Not for the first time Todd wondered how John Sheppard managed to put up with McKay's seemingly unending capacity to find things to complain about.

But any further conversation on the subject of insects was forgotten as the path widened out into a small area that had obviously only be cleared recently. Directly ahead was the mound Todd had spotted from the jumper, a landmark that the uninformed eye would simply dismiss as a natural feature of the landscape. To one side lay the remains of the three ill-fated Wraith drones from Todd's first visit, their sightless faceplates turned towards the sky, their bones already stripped of flesh by the forest scavengers.

But it was the remains of a fourth body, one without a faceplate dressed in the unmistakeable long leather coast that attracted Sheppard's attention.

"Thought you said you only lost some drones, that sure as hell doesn't look like a drone to me." Sheppard followed-up the accusation by instinctively lifting his P90 slightly.

"A junior scientist." Todd kept his tone dismissive, recognising that the best strategy here was to acknowledge Sheppard's concern that he had not been told all the facts. "But it was his carelessness that caused these deaths showing he was unlikely to have had a useful future anyway."

"So you just left them here?"

"Of course. What else would you expect me to do with him? Wraith do not collect their fallen," Todd paused briefly, watching distaste flash across Sheppard's face, aware of the vast gulf that existed between them, "dead or alive they considered are lost. What would we do with these four Sheppard? They are of no further use, why waste resources retrieving their bodies?"

"Just a thought but taking them back to the hive might have helped you find out what actually killed them?"

Todd just shrugged his shoulders. "To what purpose? This is a Lantean facility Sheppard, obviously they were killed by something, some trap, some defence set specifically to keep us out so even knowing how it operates will not help us gain access to this facility." Todd glanced at his Chief Scientist who nodded in support of his Commander's assessment of the situation. "Now if you have finished telling me how I should deal with my dead crew, I suggest we concentrate on the job at hand. There is a control panel on the wall over there."

None of the humans seemed eager to get too close to the mound and McKay spotted the panel first, quickly pointing it out to Sheppard. It was a square panel that, despite the ravages of time, still bore the appearance of Lantean technology. "Looks innocent enough, you probably just pressed the wrong buttons."

"Indeed." Even though he found McKay's comment annoying, Todd just continued the story of what happened to his crew. "My scientist uncovered it but before he could even try to examine it they all started howling. They were dead before the hit the ground."

McKay sounded surprised. "You trusted drones and an inexperience scientist to get you in here? Where were you?"

Todd smiled. "Of course, that is exactly what drones and underlings are for Dr McKay. They are given orders and obey them without question. We never forget that the Lanteans were our enemies, indeed many wraith lives have been lost since the war ended, taken by careless exploration of their deserted facilities. I would not risk more experienced officers, those who had proved themselves valuable members of my crew until I knew it was safe to do so."

Consideration of the implications of this purely utilitarian approach to life ended the conversation for several minutes. Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts as they alternated their gaze between the control panel and the dead wraith.

Finally McKay broke the silence. "Okay, it looks like someone's going to have to make a decision here," he threw a quick but disdainful glance between Sheppard and Todd, "and in the absence of any leadership from either of you I guess it's up to me." Todd smiled wryly, Sheppard opened his mouth to object but McKay just kept talking. "John you'd better come with me, you've got the strongest Lantean genes so hopefully we'll be seen as friends. That is unless the Ancients rigged this to keep everyone out."

Todd shook his head decisively. "I doubt that is the case, even though they deserted this facility and fled the galaxy, I have no doubt the Lanteans believed they would return one day."

Like many of his brothers who had fought these ancient humans, Todd had always suspected that the Lantean's might reappear one day but the thoroughness of the wraith victory meant the prospect of such a resurgence was not seen as too much of a threat.

Bird song and the occasional screeching calls from the tree tops were the only sounds to disturb the silence as the two Atlanteans moved forward. Todd would have liked to accompany them but, despite his calm dismissal of his fallen crew member's sacrifice, the sight of their remains acted as a potent disincentive to any rash action.

So he just watched as McKay took out a small hand-held device and started gingerly manipulating each of the pads on the control panel looking for a sequence that might give them entry to the facility. Sheppard kept glancing back at their audience, his suspicion evident from the frown on his face. Such distrust was disappointing but Todd had understood long ago that it would always control their relationship no matter how well their joint ventures might turn out, no matter how many benefits might flow to these Atlanteans.

=_It seems to be going well._= The Chief Scientist's words drilled into his mind but Todd's only response was a deep grunt. He had seen far too many presumed successes falter at the last minute to take anything for granted until the door to the facility was actually open.

Without warning the door suddenly slid open, not with the smooth precise movement usually associated with Lantean technology, rather with a jagged, jarring motion that said more about ten thousand years of neglect than the quality of the fitting. McKay turned back to the rest of the expedition and Todd recognised the familiar look of self-satisfaction spread across the scientist's face.

"Well, we're still standing," McKay smiled at Sheppard before turning to Todd, "but I guess the real test will come when one of you heads over here. So who wants to be first?"

Todd felt all eyes, Atlantean and wraith, turn in his direction. Convention dictated that he should order one of the drones to step forward but part of him wanted to show these humans, Sheppard in particular, that he was not afraid of the secrets this facility might hold. Taking a deep breath, he glanced across at the four dead Wraith, there was only one course of action here, all he needed was the courage to make that decision.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ronon knew he had a reputation as probably the least talkative or sociable person on Atlantis but it was not something that caused him to lose too much sleep. Since arriving in the city he had made little effort to get to know many of the faceless men and women who comprised the expedition's technical and non-military contingent. Occasionally words would be exchanged in corridors but it had quickly become evident he had little in common with them, certainly not enough on which to build any sort of relationship or friendship so he had not wasted too much time trying.

Everyone knew about his past though, that he had been a runner, moving relentlessly through the galaxy using his wits and cunning to stay one step ahead of the wraith hunters. But only a few people, the members of Sheppard's team and the select few with whom he sparred regularly, fully understood how that experience coloured his view of life and his place in that picture.

In the last couple of days, since Todd's unexpected request for help, he also became aware that more attention than usual was being turned in his direction. As so often happened in closed communities such as Atlantis, where people lived and worked in the same spaces, word had spread quickly about his refusal to become involved with this joint mission with the wraith and, as also tended to happen, the whole situation had become fertile ground for rumours. It was said that he had argued openly with Sheppard and Woolsey, that his loyalty and commitment to his new home was in doubt and that he had threatened to leave Atlantis for good.

Once he became aware of the rumours he had made a concerted effort to ignore them. He knew the truth of the situation and it was not in his nature to defend himself to people who might believe such stories. The only person whose opinion had ever really mattered to him was now just a memory, killed in the fall of Sateda and the people whose respect he valued now, especially John Sheppard, knew the truth, that was all he really cared about now. Teyla mattered too of course, but she was still off world and while he briefly wondered what she would think of his decision, he didn't waste too much time trying to anticipate her response.

So now as he looked around the mess hall for a vacant seat nobody waved him over, eager to hear his side of the story, rather they huddled together at their tables, avoiding eye contact, leaving him to find a solitary seat at the back of the room. It neither surprised nor concerned him. Finally taking the most solitary seat he could find, at the very end of the hall, he sat down with his back towards the rest of the diners, not as an intentional show of rudeness rather as a deterrent to discourage even the most intrepid person in the unlikely event anyone should feel the need to speak to him. Of course the fact that the only people likely to try this, Teyla and Sheppard, were off-world made this a highly improbable scenario but it still paid to take precautions.

It did come as a surprise though when, after enjoying only half a dozen mouthfuls of his well stocked dinner tray, his runner's instincts told him someone was moving up behind him.

"I thought I might find you here." Woolsey tried to keep his tone light but it was obvious from the determined look on his face that his purpose went beyond an attempt to develop some sense of camaraderie. "Mind if I join you?"

Ronon just grunted because there was no point saying no. Despite a determination to keep his attention focused squarely on his dinner, his eyes instinctively strayed to the other side of the table as Woolsey set down his tray and a plastic bottle of juice and pulled out the seat opposite. Stealing a quick look at the man's face, Ronon confirmed this was a discussion he could not walk away from without being outright rude to someone whose position commanded some degree of respect. But while he was powerless stop Woolsey asking questions or expressing opinions, he could control his own responses and make this unlikely dinner companion earn every piece of information he managed to extract.

After fidgeting in his seat for a few moments trying to get comfortable, Woolsey calmly started eating as if having dinner with a wild-haired alien was something he did every day. It was a tactic Ronon recognised. He had used it himself at times on Sateda when he needed to build some sort of connection, no matter how tenuous, with an unfamiliar subordinate.

Finally after eating several mouthfuls of a meal that was about half the size of Ronon's, Woolsey put down his fork and flipped the top off the fruit juice. He took several gulps before speaking. "I respect your decision not to go on this mission."

Ronon looked up in surprise then narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. There were any number of things he had expected Woolsey to say but this was not one of them. In the absence of a ready response, he just nodded his head slowly and waited for Woolsey to continue.

"I know it can't have been easy despite what you said when Todd first made contact with us about his proposal. It's never easy to step back…"

"Sheppard didn't want me along." Ronon kept his eyes on his plate as he spoke.

"Oh, really, I didn't know that." There was a slight pause as Woolsey digested this new information. "Did he give you a reason?"

When he glanced up this time Ronon was met by the vestiges of the genuine surprise and confusion on that had transformed Woolsey's face. "Said he didn't want me messing up the mission by finally killing him."

Woolsey raised his eyebrows and looked over towards the other diners as he considered the implications of such an action. "By him I assume you're referring to Todd so I have to agree with Sheppard's decision. Killing him right now would make things awkward, especially since the IOA are fully behind this joint project. And, like it or not, he is more useful to us alive than dead as long as he remains an ally rather than an enemy." Woolsey took another mouthful of his juice but Ronon knew there were more questions. "So you had actually changed your mind about going along?"

Ronon responded with a nod of his head and a grunt. "Yeah, I'd had some second thoughts."

"Not ones that Colonel Sheppard agreed with?"

"I already told you, in the end he didn't want me along." Deciding he'd had enough of answering questions that seemed to be going round in circles, Ronon asked one of his own even though he knew the answer. "So no news yet?"

"No, they've only been gone a couple of hours and the gate they used is a space gate so there's nothing we can do but wait as you're already quite aware."

Ronon continued eating in silence but then realised Woolsey had started pushing his food around his plate. It was an activity he could never understand, you eat food not play with it, but he'd seen Sheppard do exactly the same thing, especially when the Colonel had something to say but wasn't quite sure how to say it. Ronon smiled, more to himself than as encouragement for Woolsey. If a Satedan had something to say, they would just come out, say it and then deal with the consequences, good or bad. "You've got something else to say to me?"

Despite the abruptness of the question, it brought a wry smile to Woolsey's face. "Very astute of you to notice," he finally rested the fork very precisely on the side of his tray, "so I'll come straight to the point. I know you don't understand why Colonel Carter was replaced but the fact of the matter is that she was and I'd like to feel that I have your support."

"You don't need my support."

"No, you're right I don't. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to know that you will still do your best for us even though I don't have the military experience that you obviously admired in Colonel Carter and you doubt that I have the skills to lead this expedition properly."

Ronon straightened his back and pushed his food tray to one side. So this was it, despite the earlier words of understanding about the position he had taken on this particular issue, Woolsey too doubted his continuing loyalty to Atlantis. For some reason he felt surprised and just a little annoyed. While he did not respect Woolsey, for some reason he could not quite put his finger on, he found this lack of trust in his own motives and intentions disappointing.

"We're fighting a war here, a war against a ruthless enemy and for some reason your people decided to replace a leader who was doing a good job with someone who has no military experience. I don't understand it but the one thing I do know, this city is my home now, I'm part of John Sheppard's team and I'll do everything I can to protect them." Ronon frowned as he rose from his chair. "Or save them if this whole thing goes wrong."

_**x-X-x**_

The wraith moved slowly, the thoughts and emotions of his audience buffeting against his mind as each step brought him closer to the door of the Lantean facility where the two humans watched and waited. Thoughts that were diverse but largely predictable. A collective concern about unknown dangers from the other wraith, uncertainty from the humans, most of whom would be happy to watch him die although a small number held a grudging respect for any being who would knowingly walk into a situation that could prove fatal in the blink of an eye.

Not surprisingly though these abstract thoughts were not foremost on his mind, instead his own senses dominated, finely attuned to his surroundings. Everything seemed magnified, the earthy, organic scents of the forest, the sounds of the native fauna in the trees, the spongy soft ground under his feet, the subtle yet unmistakeable scent of his own apprehension and the accelerated beating of his heart. But the predominant thought, the one that was fuelled by the deep-seated sense of self-preservation that drives all living creatures, was focused on finding some signal, no matter how small, that might indicate danger.

To those who watched he looked the same as usual, a carefully orchestrated pose built on a well-developed sense of self-esteem. Tall, taller than any of the humans who watched, with a straight back, head held high and most importantly confident steps that did not falter, not even when he arrived at the spot adjacent to where the bones of his dead brothers lay. He caught the lingering odour of decay in the still air but did not hesitate or look in that direction. To have done so would have shown weakness, something he would not abide, so when he took that next step and survived a smile broke across his face that faded only slightly as he took the final three steps that brought him face-to-face with John Sheppard.

"You know I really thought you were going to send one of your drones ahead to test the waters." Sheppard's voice carried a note of something that almost touched on admiration but veered away from making such a commitment at the last minute.

"Yes, I know." Todd nodded his head gently as the smile finally left his face. "You and Dr McKay both expected me to follow that course of action but it seemed appropriate to take a calculated risk, something I know you are very familiar with John Sheppard." He walked over and bent his head slightly to peer into the dark interior beyond the open door. "I doubted the Lantean's defence device would operate again once the door was opened by those who were not seen as a threat," he turned and looked at the two humans, "but then again if it had there was always a chance it would prove equally lethal to both of you."

"So if you'd got it wrong we'd all be dead now?" The scowl that accompanied McKay's terse statement gave Todd a certain degree of smug satisfaction but it was only fleeting. Now that the tricky problem of access to the facility had been solved he was anxious to move on.

"Possibly, but I did not get it wrong." With another quick glance into the facility he stepped back from the door but before he could move the conversation around to who would lead the party into the building, the voice of his Chief Scientist broke into his thoughts.

=_It might be prudent to let these humans to enter this place alone Commander?_=

Todd turned quickly to face the underling who now stood just a few steps behind him. An unexpected and unwelcome intrusion, particularly since it was based on a fear, albeit it minimal, about the possible presence here of some elusive and unsubstantiated threat.

The spectre of this ancient myth of the Guardians was something Todd had never been prepared to accept and he had thought this wraith standing with him now, one whose understanding of the galaxy and his own place in it was based on science and logic rather than mythology, shared that scepticism. Discovering that this might not be the case was an annoying distraction but one that had to be met head-on now if he was to go forward confident he could rely on the scientist's judgement.

=_Why?_=

Almost immediately Todd sensed an added layer of apprehension surging through the underling's mind; confusion based on his own uncertainty about the possible existence of the Guardians infused with fear that his suggestion had undermined his credibility with his Commander. It showed in his eyes and way they darted from the entrance to the facility back to his Commander's face.

=_There may still be danger ahead for us._=

=_Yes, there is a strong possibility we will meet more traps which is why I had to bring the humans into this endeavour._= Todd's narrowed eyes kept the scientist's gaze fixed to his own. =_What else do you fear?_=

Indecision flashed across the scientist's face but in the end, after several moments of hesitation, he just shook his head, a slow confident movement that affirmed the words Todd wanted to hear. =_Nothing Commander, like you I do not believe in shadows that have never been substantiated._=

A wise decision and Todd showed his approval with a sharp grunt. But as his attention moved away from the scientist, he realised Sheppard and McKay had picked up on the exchange even though they were not privy to the verbal content only the accompanying looks and gestures. Turning his head slightly while honing-in on their thoughts, he was stopped short by the look of intense suspicion on Sheppard's face.

"You know it's not very polite for you two to have cosy little chats no one else can join in with, especially when they're probably about something you should be sharing with us all. A problem perhaps?"

"Why would you assume that John Sheppard?" Todd's soft response sounded false even to him. Yet again Sheppard was testing him and he was in no mood to be challenged again so soon after dealing with the scientist, especially not by a human.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe a feeling that we're probably getting close to the point of finding out about that other little thing you know about this facility that you've forgotten to tell us so far."

Despite the long low growl that rumbled deep in his chest, Todd kept his face expressionless as he considered a suitable response. Like all wraith he was prepared to mould his attitude to the concept of truth to the circumstances of each specific situation and would usually think nothing of admitting such a fluid approach. But this situation was a little different. The minds around him, wraith and Atlantean, were clamouring eagerly to see how he would respond so it was important to get the tenor of his reply just right.

Suddenly he smiled and spread his arms out from his sides, palms facing outwards, in a gesture of openness. "Like you John Sheppard, I have yet to enter this place so while there may well be some surprises, things that could prove as lethal as the door device proved to my crew, they are as much a mystery to me as they are to you. That was why I asked for your help." The smile seemed frozen on his face as his tone hardened. "So do you intend to remain there glaring at me or shall we see if this facility holds the technology we are seeking?"

_**x-X-x**_

As soon as the party stepped into the facility the long-abandoned lights began to flicker ahead of them, not all fittings activated but it was enough to cast a dim eerie light. It had an instant effect on the explorers though, not based on fear or apprehension, rather surprise about such an event happening in a facility that had not been entered for over ten thousand years. Most of them, Todd included, stopped and glanced around with an air of expectation.

"It's okay, don't worry, it's nothing particularly dramatic really," McKay's face was transformed by a self-satisfied grin while his voice took on the tone of a master instructing a class of pupils, "same thing happened when we got to Atlantis, it was just like the city came alive, everything responded to our Ancient genes, lights, equipment, computers."

Todd glanced over at his Chief Scientist and grunted. Such an attitude immediately evoked memories of working in the laboratories on Atlantis when McKay had used a similar tone to address other human scientists. At first it had amused him until the same tone started to be employed against his ideas and for that reason alone he felt unable to let such an attitude to pass here without comment.

"Thank you for the explanation Dr McKay, I believe most of us understand how this technology works but even so it is just a little..." he hesitated, looking at the flickering lights again as he searched for the right word, "...shall we say, a little unexpected in a facility that has abandoned for so long." Taking a few steps towards one of the broken wall sconces, he reached out and lightly ran the tips of his fingers across the fitting. "Besides I imagine Atlantis was in a slightly better condition when you claimed ownership for your kind."

The expression on McKay's face told Todd this was probably a significant understatement. "Well of course it was. Atlantis had the benefit of a shield that not only kept the water out but preserved everything just as it'd been when the Ancients left."

Todd nodded thoughtfully. "Wraith have always believed they would return eventually, or at least we did until your expedition arrived."

McKay obviously found this premise interesting but before he could ask more questions, Sheppard intervened to end the conversation, casting a frown in Todd's direction for good measure. "Enough, we're not here to talk about Atlantis, we're here to explore this facility." He glanced over at two of the marines. "Stay here, we'll radio back at regular intervals."

The orders were delivered with a tone of authority that Todd might have considered challenging under different circumstances but at that particular moment he felt quite comfortable deferring to the Atlantean. Concern that taking a secondary role here would be seen as weakness by his crew was not an issue, after all he had invited the humans to accompany them, to take the lead and neutralise any hidden dangers. Besides his Chief Scientist understood what was involved, what was at stake here and the drones would not even think to question their Commander's decision.

So with his underling walking a pace behind his left shoulder Todd fell into step with McKay, not because he wanted this one's company per se, rather because of the human's talent for revealing useful information in the course of general conversation. But as they moved further into the facility, away from the natural light from outside, thoughts of covert intelligence gathering were overtaken by the sights that appeared out of the darkness.

Lights continued to flicker on ahead and it quickly became clear they were moving through a long, bare corridor that stretched into the gloom. But while the signature Lantean colour scheme of orange and turquoise tones was visible, albeit with a much reduced brightness, the clean smooth lines of Atlantis were not. Long aerial roots from the planet's vegetation had breached the facility at various intervals, forcing their way down along the walls and through cracks in the ceiling creating a series of organic curtains, some quite thick, that glistened with minute particles of moisture. Not surprisingly the air was filled with the rich scents of these organic invaders that combined with the subdued light to create a vaguely familiar look.

"Hey almost looks like a variation of your hive decorating style, you might feel quite at home here after all." McKay quipped while keeping an eye on the small life-signs monitor he was holding.

Todd grunted and looked down at the human out of the corner of his eye. "No, I can assure you this place is very different to anywhere Wraith might as you say 'feel at home'. There is nothing here for us except the challenges and benefits of gaining access to technology the Lanteans tried so hard to keep out of our hands."

"Yeah, well if the whole place has been infiltrated like this corridor, time and nature might just have succeeded where the Ancients failed. You know it could turn out that we're wasting our time."

The response took Todd by surprise, McKay's sudden pessimism seemed at odds with the rampant enthusiasm exhibited previously. "Really? I understood you were eager to find this technology, are you now suggesting we abandon this quest?"

"No, no, of course not." McKay's quick, terse response brought a wry smile to Todd's face. "But much as I hate to say it, we probably shouldn't get too excited about what we might find here or rather what we might find that's still of any use to us."

"Perhaps, although based on what we both know of the Lanteans, I would be quite surprised if they have not taken more comprehensive precautions to protect the laboratories and workshops."

"Yeah well I guess we'll find out soon enough." McKay's voice still carried tones of doubt.

"Indeed." Todd shook his head and reflected on how little he really understood of these humans. He always found it difficult to accept the possibility of failure until faced with irrefutable evidence that what he hoped to achieve was indeed impossible.

"Want to stop day-dreaming and help get through this mess?" Sheppard's sharp request cut through his ruminations, putting paid to more analysis of human idiosyncrasies.

It took several minutes to cut through the particularly thick patch of hanging vegetation blocking their path but it finally succumbed to a combination of Wraith and Atlantean handiwork. Their efforts were rewarded by the sight of what looked like the end of the corridor and they soon found themselves face-to-face with a transporter that, not surprisingly, resembled those scattered throughout Atlantis.

Instinctively Todd and the other Wraith stood well back leaving Sheppard, McKay and Lorne to investigate further. It was not a long wait. After only a few minutes examining the control mechanism, McKay turned and grinned as the doors opened without incident.

_**x-X-x**_

Showing little evidence of the ten thousand years of neglect that had affected the entrance, the transporter dropped quickly and smoothly into the depths of the facility before opening to deposit its passengers into a large circular room. Necessity forced them to travel down in three groups and as the first arrivals moved cautiously out into the dark, the lights again sprang to life accompanied this time by a low buzzing sound.

"That should be some sort of air-conditioning or circulation unit." McKay looked up at the ceiling and immediately spotted the familiar square vents used on Atlantis.

The clean lines of this room showed no signs of the ravages of nature evident in the upper level corridor so rather than being filled with rich organic odours the air was musty and dry.

"Well it appears that your concerns about the rest of the facility being compromised are unfounded Dr McKay." Todd felt it necessary to state the obvious before turning to survey the area, chuckling quietly as he caught the irritated look McKay threw in his direction.

But this was not the time for banter with the human, more important things were afoot such as assessing options for further exploration. Two corridors led away from the transporter room in opposite directions and unfortunately neither held any clues as to where they might ultimately lead. In this totally alien environment he could sense nothing but the auras of the dead Lanteans who had worked here and they provided no clues either.

To his mind it made sense to split into two groups to continue exploring but imposing his will might not be that easy if Sheppard decided otherwise, not that there were many options but with humans one could never be sure. Todd flexed his hands a couple of times before glancing over at the other wraith. The time might be rapidly approaching when he would be forced to make a decision about stamping some of his own authority on how best to proceed but he was in no rush to push the issue so just waited for Sheppard to speak.

"We'll split into two groups, McKay you come with me," Sheppard looked in Todd's direction, "you and your scientist go with Lorne and his team…"

"No." The single word cut across Sheppard's words with a degree of authority Todd knew the human would find annoying but there was much at stake here, much that Sheppard did not understand. "I agree that we need to split up but my scientist will accompany you and your marines while I take Dr McKay with my party."

Sheppard raised his eyebrows to assume a look of surprise but his voice dripped with sarcasm. "Don't tell me, you don't trust us to keep you in the loop about anything we might find?"

Shaking his head, Todd huffed dismissively. "Spare me your mock surprise Sheppard, we both know we don't trust each other. We need to conduct a preliminary sweep of what lies further along these corridors that will tell us which path will lead to our prize."

The quiet hum of air circulation unit was the only sound to break the silence as Sheppard considered this option. Todd knew his logic was obvious and sensed that Sheppard knew it too, the only stumbling block was the human's own biases against trusting a wraith.

Finally, after glancing across at Lorne, Sheppard nodded his head slowly. "Okay. Let's go."

=_Watch them carefully._= Todd's advice to his Chief Scientist was met with a slight nod of the head as the two teams went their separate ways.

Content to allow Lorne and McKay to lead the way Todd followed silently attended by three of his drones. They had not travelled too far before doors started appearing on both sides of the corridor. Lorne and one of his men opened the first door to reveal a small room furnished with two metal-framed bunks, two low cupboards with a draw at the bottom and two tall lockers. Several additional rooms on each side of the corridor revealed the same set-up there were some minor but interesting differences. Some bunks had obviously been slept in but were unmade, some locker doors were open to show hanging jackets and some personal items such as combs remained where their owners had left them on the top of their cupboards.

"You know, strange as it may seem, looks to me like this place was abandoned in a hurry." Lorne frowned as he opened another door.

McKay nodded. "But why? If it was that important, you'd think they'd have had a well-worked out evacuation plan. Why would the Ancients to abandon it in a hurry? "

"Because their arrogance and conceit prevented them from understanding they were beaten until it was too late and they just fled when defeat was inevitable." Even after ten thousand years Todd was unable to mask the contempt he felt towards the Lanteans for their flight from the galaxy. "They would have kept working here until the last minute hoping they could find some way to defeat us."

"Yeah, that'd explain it I suppose but it seems strange given the precise way they left Atlantis."

"As I have already told you Doctor McKay, wraith have always believed the Lanteans meant to return one day when they felt they could finally defeat us." Todd glanced at Lorne and McKay in turn. "I suppose they have returned but in a diminished form."

McKay opened his mouth to respond to this slight on their ability but was interrupted by the crackle of the portable communicator attached to his vest.

"Rodney, anything of interest at your end?" Sheppard's voice echoed in the small room.

"No, not unless you're ready for a nap." McKay's disappointment was evident in his voice and on his face. "How about you?"

"Yeah, we've found something interesting but this wraith scientist refuses to go near it. Looks like it's over to you."

"Yeah, that'd be right." McKay sighed as he pulled the life-signs detector from one of his vest pockets. "Okay, I've got your position so we'll head over there now."

"Take your time, we're not going anywhere."

Flicking off the communicator, McKay started back along the corridor pausing next to Todd on the way. "We'll revisit this 'diminished form' issue later."

Sharing the scientist's curiosity for what Sheppard and his team might have found, Todd merely hissed softly and followed in silence as they quickly retraced their steps back to the transporter room. The initiative shown by his own scientist in refusing to examine their discovery was reassuring but his attempt to reach out and link with the underling's mind was halted before it even began as McKay suddenly stopped walking and shook the detector he had kept in his hand. "What the…" He shook the detector again. "Awwhh crap!"

"What?" Stopping next to Todd, Lorne automatically responded to McKay's tone by lifting his P90.

But the question became redundant as McKay turned back towards them, the look on his face making it clear there was a problem, a serious problem.

"They've gone."

Lorne shook his head. "You're not making sense, who's gone?"

Also unsure of what had spooked McKay, Todd again tried to reach out to his scientist, Sheppard, any of the humans who should be waiting ahead but could sense only the humans who stood around him and very basic thoughts of the three drones who accompanied them. Shaking his head to clear it of all random thoughts, he tried again but still everywhere he probed was totally devoid of Atlantean or Wraith presence.

"They've gone, their life signs, just gone, just disappeared." McKay's voice echoed disbelief as he continued to stare at the detector.

Lorne walked over and grabbed the gadget out of the scientist's hand. "That's impossible Doc, they can't have just disappeared. More likely the batteries in this thing have died."

"No," Todd heard his own deep, sombre voice reverberating along the corridor. "I can assure you there is nothing wrong with Dr McKay's gadget Major. I can feel only a cold void ahead of us and I fear he is quite right, I do not know where Colonel Sheppard and the others have gone but they are no longer in this facility."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Major Lorne shook the life-signs detector again. "No way, Doc! I don't care where we are or what your fancy little piece of gadgetry says, people don't just disappear into thin air."

"Hey, it's not just my piece of 'gadgetry'," there was a slight pause as McKay jabbed his thumb in Todd's direction, "he senses they've gone too and just for once in my life I'm prepared to listen to a wraith's opinion."

Todd watched the emotions play across Lorne and McKay's faces as their babbling exchange infiltrated his mind but he made no attempt to join the conversation, not even in response to McKay's comment about accepting his opinion. Far more important things demanded his attention now, things like ordering his own thoughts and mind so he could think clearly and logically about what had happened and what needed to be done.

As he took a couple of steps down the corridor, leaving the two humans to their chatter, a slow, deliberate flexing of his hands released some of the built-up tension that was coursing through his body . Not surprisingly the confusion he sensed percolating through the minds around him mirrored his own sense of concern as they all tried to come to terms with the reality of what had happened. Despite the evidence of McKay's detector and his own senses, there was no escaping the fact that Major Lorne was quite right, life forms, be they wraith or human, should not just disappear in the blink of an eye.

But apparently they had.

Allowing logic to take free reign over his mind, Todd embarked on a subliminal journey through the maze of corridors ahead, trying yet again to link into the memory patterns of his Chief Scientist but again he was met only with a cold, harsh void. He grunted quietly. This was all highly irregular. There should have been something, some remnant of his underling's presence, the other drone warriors and the humans too even though their telepathic signatures were much weaker than those of wraith.

Suddenly he froze, hit by the realisation that something more significant was evident here, or rather a lack of something he would have expected to find in this situation. No matter where he searched there were no tangible signs, no remnant auras of any other life forms who might have initiated this enigma. Evidence, if he needed it, that the only way they were going to find any clues as to what might have happened was by travelling deeper into this facility, to follow the footsteps of the scientist and John Sheppard. It was not a prospect he relished and for the first time in a long while, since the countless battles and clandestine sorties of the Lantean War, Todd felt the cold hand of fear start to wend its way through the outer edges of his mind.

"Guardians." He whispered the name softly and shook his head, safe in the knowledge that Lorne and Mckay were still so caught up with their own conversation and thoughts that they would neither hear him nor notice the uncertainty he knew was reflected on his own face.

A name, a concept, a myth to which he had always refused to give any substance despite the rumours that had circulated from time to time since the Lantean War. Yet now faced with this dilemma, faced with being forced to come to terms with something he did not understand, his mind began to conjure up unwelcome images of creatures against which he knew there would be no defence.

But in the midst of contemplating these spectres his mind took another turn, forcing another thoughtful grunt as he suddenly saw a flaw in this explanation. If this _was_ the work of the Guardians, why had they not just taken the wraith, why had the Atlanteans been taken too, why had they not been spared? They had been immune to the danger posed to wraith by the lock at the facility entrance so what was different here?

"Hey, you still with us?" Lorne's question and the new sense of authority with which it was delivered finally brought Todd out of his private musings. "We're not going to find out anything by just standing here are we? Let's go."

Again Todd tensed as the fear that had been nibbling at his mind suddenly intensified and he realised he could no longer stand aloof from the humans' conversation. But his response had to be measured. Yes, investigation was inevitable but it would be best undertaken after they had assessed all the possible options more fully. Right now he baulked at simply following in the footsteps of the missing members of their party, a reluctance he knew from experience would most likely be shared by McKay. "Really? And where do you intend to go Major?"

A look of surprise flickered across Lorne's face as he glanced at McKay. Todd growled softly. Clearly both humans had taken his silence to mean indifference and consequently underestimated that he might also have some strong opinions on how this situation should be handled.

"I would've thought that was pretty obvious. We go see what's happened of course."

Todd shook his head decisively, a low growl emphasising his disagreement as he shifted his glance between Lorne and McKay. "I do not see blindly following in the footsteps of those who have disappeared as the 'obvious' course of action here. Certainly the area from which my scientist and Colonel Sheppard disappeared must be investigated but I suggest we return to Atlantis first, collect more equipment and men, conduct the search of this facility properly and carefully."

Even before Todd finished speaking, Lorne's face had transformed into a mask of stubborn determination. "We're not leaving here until we've been to see what's happened to Colonel Sheppard and the others. If you're afraid you can wait…"

"I am not afraid," Todd turned his full attention towards Lorne as he hissed the denial, "but I see little value in all of us succumbing to whatever has befallen them. They may be dead, although I doubt it, but if they are, sacrificing ourselves to confirm this would be exceedingly foolish. If they have been captured it is unlikely the small contingent we have here could enact a rescue and getting ourselves taken in a similar fashion will serve no purpose either. Not to us, not to my missing crew or your team members, not to anyone."

Looking down at Lorne, unblinkingly returning the human's silent stare, Todd sensed the same attitude Sheppard had displayed earlier in the mission, reluctant agreement with the logic of his argument but an even greater reluctance to actually defer to a Wraith's advice. Finally it was McKay who spoke up, expressing the view Todd had expected but his characteristic patina of self-assurance was absent. "You know I think going back might actually be the better option here."

"I thought you agreed with me a minute ago." Lorne snapped as his growing irritation becoming evident.

"Well, I did but look we have no idea what's ahead and given the way those life-signs just disappeared," looking down at the small detector in his hand McKay shook his head, "I've never seen anything like that happen before so I just don't know, I just can't see how they would've disappeared like that if they were attacked in the usual way …"

"Okay, well if they weren't attacked then what the hell do you both think happened? Are they dead? Are they wounded? Are they laying there in some sort of, I don't know, some sort of coma? Because if they are, the longer we spend arguing here the less chance we have of finding them alive." The perception that he was being ganged up on coloured Lorne's response with a tone of aggression that almost bordered on irrational.

"Enough." Todd growled, rapidly losing patience with this display of what he saw as needless human stubbornness. While he was prepared to tolerate Sheppard's orders, he was in no mood to pander to Lorne's insecurities and knew they needed to make a decision now. "They are not simply dead, laying there waiting for us to claim their bodies nor are they in any other suspended state. If they were I would be able to sense some residual evidence of their presence but there is nothing, no memories, no thoughts, no sudden premonitions of their own deaths." Todd drew back his lips to a snarl. "Nothing. They have been taken, by whom and how I do not know but I do know we need to be better prepared when we go to look for answers."

_**x-X-x**_

Ronon had never been very good at just waiting around to hear news of how other missions were progressing. It was not through any lack of interest in others' activities, rather it had its roots in his strong streak of independence and the need for action that had always dominated his character. So despite his vehement opposition to their mission, waiting on Atlantis while Sheppard and his team headed off-world was turning out to be far more difficult that he had anticipated.

It had seemed so easy when he watched Sheppard walk out of the locker room, when, despite his growing misgivings about not joining them, his mind was still dominated by mistrust of Todd. But now he was restless. Time seemed to be dragging and with his closest friends gone on said mission, there was no-one around with whom he felt comfortable sharing his concerns for their safety.

There was only one solution. Exercise. A good brisk workout with the fighting sticks, sparring with someone who, even if they were not his equal in strength and skill, would be good enough to test him. It was late afternoon so making his way to the gym, he felt certain there would be at least one willing opponent, someone ready to try their hand certain that their luck would change on that one day when Ronon was off his game.

But there was only one occupant when he arrived, a serious-looking young man Ronon had seen there before. They had never sparred but the style with which he was executing practice moves with the fighting sticks pointed to a novice with the potential to become a half-worthy opponent.

"You up for a match?"

Dr John Collins might have been new to Atlantis, and an archaeologist rather than a military man, but as he glanced in Ronon's direction it was obvious from the look that crossed his face that he knew exactly who he was facing.

Ronon smiled. "I don't bite."

"No, of course not, sorry ... sir."

"Don't call me sir."

Collins nodded and looked slightly embarrassed. "I know, I'm a civilian and I don't have to …"

"I don't care what you call people. Do you want to spar or not?"

"I'm not sure I'm good enough, I'm still learning the rules of fighting with these sticks," Collins said hesitantly.

"It's alright, I'm flexible with rules."

Ronon moved over to take his personalized set of weapons from their permanent place on the wall rack and moved into the centre of the sparring area. Tossing the fighting sticks from hand to hand, he flexed his shoulders and arms to loosen up as Collins moved into a position that spoke of defence rather than confidence that he could beat his opponent.

For the first few minutes the two men circled like wild animals stalking prey, muscles tensed, eyes focused solely on their opponent, hands tightly gripping the stout wooden fighting sticks. Ronon moved first, attacking Collins with a ferocity that took the novice by surprise. But he recovered quickly and after several minutes of sparring both men carried red welts on their arms where the other's weapons had found their mark.

Time became irrelevant as the adrenalin kicked in and they were overtaken by the thrill of the fight. Of a similar height and weight they looked to be a perfect match but the excessive sweat pouring down the newcomer's back, visible as a dark stain on his sleeveless vest, told another story.

Finally Ronon decided to push home his advantage and claim victory. Gripping the fighting sticks just a little tighter he increased the pace of his attack a couple of notches, stepping forward to fill Collins' retreat until finally the young man had his back against the wall and was left with no alternative but to admit that he had been bettered. As both men lowered their weapons, Ronon took two steps backwards allowing them both space to bow respectfully to acknowledge the other's skill.

"You just need more practice." Ronon knew that a few words of encouragement always helped soothe the sting of defeat and Collins accepted them with a thin smile.

"Thanks, even at home I seemed to spend a lot of my time on the losing end. Perhaps I need to start sparring with some of the scientists here so I can actually win for a change."

"No," Ronon shook his head purposefully, "you start winning, you won't learn and trust me even though you're not a soldier you need to learn all you can if you're going survive here."

Taking a couple of fresh towels from a small pile next to the doors, both men wiped down the handles of the wooden fighting sticks before rubbing the towels over their faces.

Although they left the gym together, Ronon had no expectations that their conversation would continue so was a little surprised when Collins fell into step beside him. Taking a quick glance at the young man's face though, it was obviously he had something to say but needed some encouragement to start.

"What?" Ronon was vaguely aware he could have said more but Collins didn't seem deterred.

"I heard about you when I did my final training at the SGC before I came here."

"Yeah?" Ronon looked across at the young man and grinned. "Well, you wouldn't want to believe everything you hear."

"They said these creatures called wraith hunted you for sport. I'm having some trouble understanding what sort of intelligent creature does that to another. Why do they do it?"

Ronon grunted but kept his attention focused on the corridors ahead. Collins' question was filled with an air of almost innocent curiosity that reminded him yet again of the gulf that existed between him and these humans from another galaxy and how little they really understood his world.

Still he was dealing with a newcomer to Pegasus so in many ways it was probably quite a natural question, one that Ronon felt some sort of duty to answer. But still he hesitated. Inevitably memories of some of his skirmishes with his wraith hunters came to mind, not that they were ever very far from the surface, and he took a couple of minutes to dampen down the raw emotion and anger they triggered.

"Have I said something wrong?" Collins' concern was mirrored in his clean shaven face.

Ronon shook his head. "No. They do it because they can and nobody is strong enough to stop them." He bit his lip thoughtfully before going on. "A few things you need to know about wraith. To start with they don't understand loyalty so don't think you can ever trust them, understand them or reason with them. They might be intelligent on some level but they're like machines; ruthless and evil, destroying anything that stands in their way or tries to challenge their supremacy, even whole civilisations, and they treat humans like some sort of inferior animal whose only purpose is to sustain their own miserable lives."

While older hands on Atlantis would have been surprised at the length of this reply, Collins just took it in his stride. "That's pretty much an extended version of what Colonel Sheppard said at our orientation briefing. What about the ones who were here the other day? The tall one looked pretty confident, did he ever hunt you?"

"No, he'd be dead now if he had." The prospect of a dead Todd brought a satisfied smile to Ronon's face but it disappeared quickly as he started to give an assessment of his enemy. "He's the worst type of them all. That one has learned the value of manipulating humans, he lies and connives to get Atlantis to help with his plots and plans then uses us to further his own position."

"So why haven't we just killed him?"

Ronon was starting to feel that he'd probably answered enough questions but since they were nearly back at the Gate Room where they would go their separate ways he gave Collins one final piece of advice. "Good question, you should ask Sheppard when he gets back."

Sure enough the young archaeologist didn't want to follow him up to the Gate Room so they parted company with a commitment to spar again soon. Ronon turned his thoughts back to finding out if any news had come through yet but as he strode up the bank of steps leading up to the Control Room he could see something was wrong. The anxious looks playing across the technicians' faces, the way Woolsey was hovering around behind them, all spoke of something out of the ordinary and Ronon knew immediately, even though they weren't the only team currently off-world, that this had to be about Sheppard's team.

"Ronon," Woolsey stepped forward as soon as Ronon entered the room, "I'd just sent people to look for you."

"It's Sheppard's team isn't it?"

Woolsey hesitated. "Err, yes, it seems they've run into a problem, Major Lorne and Dr Mackay are coming back alone. It seems…"

But Ronon wasn't really much interested in knowing the details at this stage, just one question burned in his mind. "Is Todd with them?"

"Yes, I believe he is but..."

Woolsey's voice trailed off as he realised he was talking to himself. Ronon was already heading back down the stairs, planning his welcome. "I'll wait down in the Jumper Bay."

_**x-X-x**_

Sheppard knew immediately that he was still alive. If the dull throbbing pain behind his eyes wasn't proof enough, the dull ache in his back and hip combined with the chill in his body were testament to the fact that he had been laying on a cold hard floor for some time.

Gingerly he opened his eyes. The light was muted but he quickly realised that he was facing a wall, a white wall that was smooth and quite cool to touch as he reached out his fingertips. Turning as the rolled over slowly, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and leaned back against the wall to consider his surroundings before making any attempt to stand. He was alone and the stale, cool air combined with the silence provided compelling evidence that he was probably in some sort of prison facility. Gradually, as his eyes adjusted to the light, he confirmed this assessment. The wall opposite to where he sat comprised bars, not unlike those that secured the brig on Atlantis giving him the first clue that he might still be in the Ancient facility they had been exploring.

Working through the fog in his mind, he tried to figure out what the hell had happened. Last thing he could remember was leading his team into a large laboratory or at least it had looked like a lab and Todd's scientist had certainly seemed quite excited by what was there although he had refused to actually enter the room. Sheppard remembered speaking to Rodney but what had happened then? Had some sort of ancient trigger been activated by their presence there? By the scientist's activity? What about Rodney and Lorne's team? Although they were on the way to the lab, Sheppard hoped like hell that they hadn't been close enough to get caught in this trap or whatever it was.

Clearly he needed to know more but first he checked to make sure nothing was broken. Stretching gently it was a relief to find there didn't seem be any physical injuries, just this damned headache. At least it didn't get any worse as he got to his feet slowly but then again it didn't get any better either as he walked to the bars so obviously it was something he have to live with for the foreseeable future.

First things first though. He needed to find out if the bars were protected by a force field like the brig on Atlantis. Searching through his pockets he found a small nut and bolt he must have picked up somewhere for some reason he couldn't remember. It wasn't a critical part of his kit so he tossed it towards the bars and was relieved to watch it bounce off one of the thick metal louvres and land with a soft rattle on the floor outside. Well at least something seemed to be going his way.

Moving closer, he saw the cell faced out on to a corridor which possibly meant there were other cells on either side of him. "Hello, anyone there?" Even to his ears his voice sounded weaker than usual as it echoed off the smooth wall facing him. "Hello!" He shouted this time but again his words were swallowed up by the silence.

Turning back to survey his own cell he was reluctant to simply go back and curl up in a corner waiting for someone to eventually decide to let him know what was going on. But there seemed little else to do. Turning for one final look down the corridor he was surprised to find himself face-to-face with a tall, elderly man dressed in long white robes.

"Who the hell are you? And where'd you come from."

The man's lined face was devoid of any emotion. His short cropped grey hair was matched by a short grey beard but even through the dim light the most striking features of his appearance were the eyes. Cold grey orbs that stared at Sheppard with impartial disinterest. "My name is not important, you neither need to know it nor use it."

Sheppard knew he was in a position of gross disadvantage, but he also knew he had to make sure the resulting discomfort he felt was not reflected in either his attitude or his voice. "No, you got that wrong, you've captured us and you owe me some sort of explanation that should include your name."

"There is nothing to explain."

"Really? And where'd you get that idea? To start with where are the rest of my team?" Still unsure if Lorne and McKay had also been captured, Sheppard knew he needed a strategy to confirm that they were still free without letting this being know they were also in the facility.

"In cells of their own."

"And the four wraith?"

"Dead."

Sheppard grunted. It sounded like only his team had been taken but he was all too aware this assumption was based on the responses of a man who was proving reluctant to divulge anything more than the most basic information. Such reticence was starting to grate so he decided to change tack with his questions. "Why?

Confusion briefly crossed the sombre face but it was not mirrored in the tone of the stranger's reply. "Because they are our enemy of course."

"No. Why did you capture us?"

"You brought wraith here, a scientist. We could not allow him access to the secrets that are stored here."

Sheppard nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I can understand that, we were a little nervous about bringing him here too. But who are you?"

As he asked the question Sheppard was pretty sure that the answer would be another stonewall. But he was finally starting to get some ideas about this man's identity. The arrogant dismissal of any opinion that did not agree with his, the air of superiority and the precise, condescending way of speaking were all ringing bells in his memory.

"You do not need to know that."

More arrogance, confirmation that his hunch was right but still Sheppard wanted to get further affirmation of this human's identity from his own mouth. "You know what, I'm getting pretty tired of being told what I need to know. Why is it so difficult for you to answer simple questions?"

"You came here with our enemy, the creatures we are sworn to protect this place from. From that we can only surmise you are not to be trusted."

"Okay, I get the message, you're pissed with us for bringing them here. But if you're who I think you are and you've been here as long as I think you have, you really need to know that there've been some changes out there. Pretty significant changes."

"No matter how things change wraith will always be our enemy."

"Yeah, I know someone else who shares that view. But you know you guys did actually lose the war, although I'm guessing you know that already?" Sheppard hesitated, waiting for a reply but none was forthcoming. "Your city here in this galaxy, Atlantis, lay empty for ten thousand years until we came and brought it back to life. You keep saying 'we' so how many of you are here?

"Enough."

"Yeah, I know, 'I don't need to know'. Okay, you're obviously not going to tell me much about yourself so what happens now? You've killed the wraith so you can let us go."

"No." The cold dispassionate tone sent a shiver of concern down Sheppard's spine.

"What do you mean 'no'? Look we don't want to harm you, I get the message, you can let us go and we won't come here again. You have my word on that."

"You have brought wraith here once, there is no guarantee your kind will not do so again."

Sheppard sensed they were starting down the path of a circuitous conversation that could go on indefinitely without ever reaching a satisfactory conclusion. "I have given you my word, now let us go."

"You will stay here."

With that the man turned and walked away as quickly and quietly as he had arrived. Sheppard considered shouting out after him but based on the quality of the information flow during their conversation decided against wasting his breath.

Finally he went back and sat down in the corner, his face a mask of despondency. Although these beings had killed the wraith, it didn't sound like he and his team were in any immediate danger of harm but that could change. Much as he hated being in situations he was powerless to change, all he could do was wait and hope that McKay and Lorne had managed to make it back to Atlantis and were now figuring out a plan for a rescue.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Resting the palms of his hands on the edge of the console, Richard Woolsey grimaced as Ronon strode back down the stairs, effortlessly taking them two at a time, and headed off towards the Jumper Bay. The uncompromising frown that creased the big Satedan's face and the rigid set of his shoulders telegraphed what everyone in the Control Room already knew. Understanding the finer details of what had happened to Sheppard's team was the last thing on his mind right now – he just wanted to know how Todd was involved.

Woolsey straightened up and folded his arms. Could he, should he, really expect a different response? If he had learned anything since arriving in Atlantis, it was that despite Ronon's unpredictability in many aspects of his character, other elements of his behaviour such as his mistrust of Todd were totally predictable.

An involuntary sigh whispered across his lips. Although barely audible, Woolsey still glanced around nervously, anxious to see if anyone had heard, concerned that it might be seen as a sign of indecision. Every technician seemed engrossed with their own set of controls though and so looking back down at the exit where Ronon had just disappeared, he wondered if he could have handled this new emergency just a little more effectively.

Standing in this very spot, listening to the hesitation and confusion in Major Lorne's voice as he tried to explain and understand what had befallen some members of the team, Woolsey knew he was facing a very difficult situation. He unsure how a whole team could simply disappear but rather than linger on that he knew a more pressing problem would be finding a way to contain a confrontation between Ronon and Todd. Not because he would not have liked to see Ronon's methods for getting information out of the wraith but rather because he had a feeling Todd's first action on returning to Atlantis would be to recall his hive.

Woolsey knew it was his responsibility to keep a cool head and keeping the two apart seemed to be the logical solution. At first it had not seemed too daunting a task, just one that would need careful handling. So he had dispatched people to find the big Satedan with the explicit aim of keeping him occupied and away from the returning team until the full story had been told.

His lips pursed as he realised it had been a little naïve to think it would be that easy.

Of course he could simply have lied when Ronon had appeared in the Control Room, saying that they had not yet heard from the exploration party but that would never have worked. While he had mastered the art of bending the truth to suit his own purpose, he would have stood no chance against Ronon's questioning and disconcerting habit of casting piercing, threatening looks at those people he did not believe.

Suddenly, without looking around, he felt certain each and every single eye in the Control Room was turned in his direction, watching, waiting for his next move. Feeling like a specimen under a microscope, he lifted his head decisively and walked over to another console. As he looked down at the technician sitting there awaiting his orders, he hoped his face reflected a determination to assert leadership and inspire confidence.

"Send another team of marines down to the Jumper Bay and," he glanced at his watch and realised that if some luck was running his way the returning puddle jumpers would still be in communications range, "radio Major Lorne, tell him that under no circumstances whatsoever is he to open the jumper door until I give him the signal."

"Yes, sir..." the young woman hesitated, "...do you want me to tell the marines already down there that Ronon's on his way?"

A sensible question but Woolsey just smiled grimly and shook his head. "Thank you but no, I think they'll probably be finding that out for themselves," he glanced at his watch again before starting to make his own way down to the Jumper Bay, "right about now."

_**x-X-x**_

Todd had travelled in these Atlantean craft often enough to know the slight shudder they had just experience meant they had cleared what he had heard John Sheppard refer to as the event horizon. Drawing in a slow, deep breath he opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times as the momentary feeling of confusion that always followed a journey through one of these gates passed.

Once they had boarded the jumper for the return journey, Major Lorne had made it clear he would not be extending the courtesy usually shown by Sheppard of allowing Todd to sit up front, leaving him relegated to the back cabin with his three remaining warriors. Under normal circumstances they would not have been his first choice of travel companions but this situation was different. Very different. Far from feeling slighted, it had suited his purpose by removing any obligation to talk to the Atlanteans. So once they had cleared the planet's surface he had closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the wall, blocked out the human voices and allowed himself the indulgence of falling into a short but nevertheless useful period of meditation.

But now, as they travelled up the short distance between the gate and the bay where the Atlanteans stored their small craft, it was clear any time for further reflection was well past. As usual when he arrived on Atlantis, a cacophony of voices from the past and the present bombarded his refreshed mind. This time one stood out, the only one that mattered, so instinctively closing his eyes again to help focus his thoughts, he shut out all but the collective voice of his crew.

The hive might be sitting on the outer edge of the system but the choir of subliminal voices instantly begin surging through the conduits of his mind. It was an elixir, delivering a sense of power that wrapped him in its folds, providing welcome sustenance and driving out the desolation he had felt in and around the Lantean facility.

Enjoyable as it was though, this was not the time to indulge his inner auras so he reached out to deliver a short curt command. =_Bring the hive back into orbit directly above Atlantis._=

Such a move would probably be viewed as hostile by the Atlanteans but it was a chance he was prepared to take. Based on his experiences here, when he had ended up in the brig, Todd was not willing to go into what he knew would be an equally hostile situation without back-up.

The response from his Second was immediate.

=_Commander?_= Even across space the surprise and confusion over his leader's sudden appearance was unmistakeable =_We were not expecting your return so soon. Is all well?_=

Resisting the initial temptation to snap back that of course all was not well, Todd ignored the question and closed his mind to any further communications safe in the knowledge that his orders would be followed without question. Turning his mind to the situation closer at hand, he huffed quietly. Questions. He saw nothing but questions in his immediate future, demands and accusations that he would be expected to answer.

But before he had time to consider any answers, another subliminal voice finally broke through, assaulting his mind with a mix of rage and hatred he had rarely, if ever, experienced.

The Satedan. Of course. This one would be looking for answers too but as Todd subtly reached back to probe the runner's mind, pushing aside the layers of anger, a second set of emotions emerged, a suppressed sense of guilt that this human had not accompanied his friend Sheppard on the mission.

Interesting. How would the Satedan behave without the Colonel there to exert some control? Todd did not have an answer but as he considered how best to use the runner's weakness to his own advantage, his hands flexed thoughtfully while a quiet smile touched his face. It was only fleeting though, gone as he realised they must have arrived at their final destination since Major Lorne was standing directly in front of him.

"I'm not sure you've got anything to smile about, if I were you I'd be thinking about how you're going to explain this mess."

Todd scanned the major's face thoughtfully, choosing to ignore the insolent tone of the subordinate's voice. "I assume you mean I will be required to provide some answers about what has happened but I assure you I know no more than you do. None of us were present when Colonel Sheppard's party disappeared which is why, if you care to recall our conversation, we have returned to launch an ordered rescue mission."

"Yeah, right," McKay's voice filtering through from the front cabin was thick with sarcasm. "Call it a hunch but I'm prepared to bet you know just a little more about this whole mess that you're letting on."

The spectre of the Guardians flashed across Todd's mind, dark shadows bringing a brief moment of uncertainty that he immediately countered with a quick shake of his head. "We are wasting time sitting here," he hissed tersely.

"Yeah, well you're not calling the shots and we're going to be sitting here until I say we move. I've been told to keep the door shut until Woolsey arrives," Lorne glanced back through the jumper's front window, "seems we have to protect you from Ronon."

Again the insolent tone was grating but again Todd chose to let it pass, preferring instead to assert his substantial height advantage by finally rising from his seat, a move that forced Lorne to take a couple of steps back into the front cabin. "Ah, yes," he purred, "your runner. Your concern for my welfare is touching Major Lorne, if a little hollow, but I can assure you I am more than capable of looking after myself..."

He stopped mid-sentence as the sound of hammering on the jumper's back door began to echo through the cabin. A rhythmic pounding accompanied by a muffled voice that brought the three wraith warriors quickly to their feet and another smile to Todd's face.

_**x-X-x**_

Tanus was not exactly sure why he felt guilty but he did. At first, as he listened to his commanding officer, Midian, talk to the prisoner, he had put his sense of discomfort down to one of the side effects of the stasis from which they had been so rudely awoken. But now as they walked in silence away from the cells, having had time to mull over the prisoner's words, he knew it was something else entirely, something more tangible, something that had to be addressed.

"This is wrong," he finally declared, a nervous shake of his head the only sign of the discomfort he felt challenging Midian's course of action. "The wraith are dead and we have disposed of their remains. We should return these humans to their people."

Midian stopped immediately, leaving Tanus no choice but to follow suit. Turning to look at his leader, he was met by a mask of intolerance mixed with anger.

"You forget your place here Tanus. I am the leader of this contingent and as such it is up to me to decide how we meet our responsibilities. We volunteered to stay here to protect this facility against the wraith, to kill any who somehow managed to breach the outer safeguards. We have fulfilled that duty and now we will return to our stasis pods."

Never fond of confrontation, Tanus took a deep breath as he felt tension spread through his body and finally manifest itself in a dark flush across his face. Certainly Midian's argument was persuasive but some inner voice of reason was telling him things were not that simple.

Truth was he had not volunteered to stay here, he had been ordered to remain by the base commander, to sacrifice his future for the greater good of his people. Not that he had minded. Like all Lanteans his hatred of the wraith was inborn but right now it just was not clear to him how condemning these strangers, fellow humans, to die a slow, tormented death would serve his race.

Nor had he ever really liked Midian. They were of different ages, had held different ranks, moved in different social circles and had no bond of common kinship. Now as he watched the older man's cold, unemotional expression, heard the arrogance in his voice, Tanus realised the time spent together in stasis had done nothing to mellow that opinion.

"They are not wraith. They are humans and the one you spoke with carried the genetic signature of our people. You sensed this as strongly as I did and yet you are prepared to kill them without a second thought."

Midian folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "I am disappointed in you Tanus. I picked you to remain here with me because I believed you to be a sound thinker, a man able to put emotion aside and deal with our enemies with the same ruthlessness they have always displayed towards us. This weakness you now show is -"

"This is not weakness, it is challenging a decision I believe to be wrong." Tanus knew the tone of his voice was rising but he had come too far to simply acquiesce.

"Don't argue with me," Midian shouted, his voice trembling with anger. "It is weakness, your thinking is muddled from being in stasis. These men might have some vague connection to our people but they have betrayed everything we every believed in. Need I remind you that they brought wraith here?"

Tanus shook his head. "No, of course not, I'm not a fool so don't treat me as one. He said things have changed, that we lost the war, that Atlantis has lain empty for ten thousand years. We didn't check our stasis monitor so we have no idea how long we have been sleeping here but if he spoke the truth it means our sacrifice has been in vain, our race is gone, nothing more than dust and if this new race is all that is left surely we must try to understand why they are dealing with wraith."

"To what end? What would you have us do?" Finally the anger faded from Midian's voice, leaving only a shared sense of desolation. "You know we can never leave here, never again enjoy a normal life. We are the guardians of this facility, no matter what has happened out there, our responsibility to prevent this technology from falling into the hands of the wraith is unchanged."

So that was it. Knowing there would be no more discussion, no more arguments, Tanus stood aside to let his leader pass. Before following he looked thoughtfully back along the darkened corridor towards the cells. This was wrong but right now he had no idea what he could do to change anything.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Not for the first time in his life Ronon was doing something completely opposite to what he knew other would be expecting of him, something that went against the grain of his character. He was waiting. Patiently. Keeping a tight rein on his anger and emotions while trying to dampen a tiny spark of guilt that kept flashing up, uninvited and unwanted, into his mind.

Nor was he waiting in any of the obvious places. Not in the Jumper Bay where he knew everyone would have been looking out for him. Not in the shadows of the narrow corridors leading away from the Bay, the ideal place to confront and deal with Todd before anyone could realise what was happening. No, he was waiting in the Conference Room. In his usual place, leaning back in his chair, weapon stowed safely in its holster, and feet resting on the edge of the table.

Of course dealing with Todd was still high on his 'to do' list but the whole situation was complicated, far more complicated than Ronon could ever have imagined it could become. Without knowing or understanding the finer details of the trouble Sheppard's team had run in to, he had, to his mind at least, been handed a legitimate reason to kill his enemy, one he was pretty sure Woolsey would support. But he did know and understand that such a sentence could not be carried out until the Sheppard problem was solved and everyone was safe.

The colonel's final words before leaving on the mission kept weaving through his thoughts, "_I'll expect you to lead the cavalry if we get into trouble."_ While still lacking any detailed definition of exactly what the cavalry was, he knew it meant curbing his anger to focus on being part of the rescue mission he knew would be launched. He sniffed thoughtfully, running ran a hand over the grip of the weapon locked in its holster. No time now to allow his animosity to get the better of him.

He sighed deeply and swung a little further back in his chair, his eyes tracing the patterned ventilation outlets that dotted the ceiling. It would not be easy but neither was it impossible. Once, when he had lived a normal life, before the destruction of Sateda, before being turned into a runner, his hatred of wraith had not dominated his thoughts. Now, facing challenges he did not yet fully understand, he saw no reason why he could not be that man again - even if it was only a temporary transformation. It could be done with the right motivation and there was no doubt that the dual purpose of finding Sheppard then finally getting rid of a persistent thorn in all their sides fitted the bill exactly.

Time passed and still he was alone with only the silence and his thoughts for company. The soundness of his approach in coming here to wait was not in doubt though. Shifting slightly in his chair, he switched his attention from the ceiling to survey his surroundings. It had not taken long to work out that this large, sterile room was Mr Woolsey's natural habitat, perhaps the one public place on Atlantis where the new commander felt really comfortable. The place where they would all come to devise a plan of action to deal with this new crisis, the place where he would wait as a way of showing a commitment to help rather than wreak vengeance.

But the longer he waited, the stronger that niggling sense of guilt became despite all attempts to dismiss it as an illogical response to a difficult situation. He closed his eyes as other conversations with Sheppard flashed through his mind. Why had he not gone on this mission? It now seemed irrelevant that Sheppard had eventually told him he was not welcome, he should have pushed the issue, done more to prove his animosity could be controlled.

Finally approaching footfalls interrupted his retrospective, swinging his focus back on how best to deal with his immediate future. Sure there would be opportunities to push Todd, to get the wraith to reveal the details about this Ancient facility that Ronon was now certain had been kept back in the first place, but he must keep a rein on his temper. It was far more important right now, both for his own piece of mind and Sheppard's future, that he go to that distant world and find out for himself what had happened.

_**x-X-x**_

No one had spoken during the short walk up from the Jumper Bay, even Dr McKay had been uncharacteristically quiet, for which Richard Woolsey was very grateful. Nevertheless the small party that made the journey was rife with tension and unspoken emotions. Major Lorne had been eager to report as soon as they alighted from the jumper but Woolsey needed time to think so had exercised his authority and ordered everyone to Conference Room. Relief had flooded through his system when everybody, including Todd and his wraith warriors, had complied immediately.

Now as he stood in the open doorway, his eyes fixed on the Conference Room's only occupant, the band of tension that had been growing steadily across his ample forehead tightened just a little further.

Of course everyone had been surprised at Ronon's non-appearance in the Jumper Bay. It had been the topic of a short, terse conversation during which Todd had made it clear he was ready to accept any challenge thrown in his direction but no one had any idea where the Satedan might be waiting. That he was waiting somewhere was not in question. Not in Woolsey's mind at least but if he had been pressed to put money on where Ronon actually was the Conference Room would have been towards the end of his list.

"Ronon," he paused while walking round to his usual place at the table, "I wondered where you'd got to."

"Well now you know," the Satedan grunted before his face morphed into a scowl.

It was a familiar expression, one that caused Woolsey to glance over in time to see the obvious cause of that scowl walk round to the other side of the table. While Todd's face was a smooth mask that displayed nothing, the black and amber gaze fixed in Ronon's direction carried a less than subtle challenge.

With a thoughtful sigh, Woolsey turned his attention back to Ronon. The enigmatic alien was clearly wound tight as a spring but beneath the attitude Woolsey detected a sense of purpose, a determination to help rather than hinder perhaps? Or maybe he was just imagining something he hoped would help relieve the tension he could sense gathering like storm clouds on some not too distant horizon. But all too aware that nothing would be revealed until Ronon was ready to play his hand, there was nothing to do but take a seat and wait for the whole party to follow suit, all except the wraith warriors and several marines who took up positions standing against the wall. "Close the door please," he ordered, nodding at the last marine to enter, "thank you. Now I want to know exactly what happened out there."

"Well I would've thought that was pretty clear," declared McKay, his voice shrill with the remnants of his initial shock, "half our team, including Sheppard has -"

But Woolsey shook his head while holding up a hand to stop the scientist's excited babble. "Dr McKay, if you don't mind I think I'd rather hear this from Major Lorne." Years of listening to mission reports, both failed and successful, had taught him that a concise, measured report delivered by the major would be a much better option than risking McKay's version of events.

McKay opened his mouth to object but then just shrugged his shoulders and grunted before leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. "Fine."

With a quick shift in his chair and a look around the table Lorne launched into his report. "Well sir, Dr McKay here got us into the facility without any trouble," the glances tossed in Todd's direction from around the table were met with a quick nod of the wraith's shaggy head, "once inside it was obviously a Lantean facility that nobody had entered for a long, long time. We located a transporter, just like the ones here, that took us down to a lower level where we split into two groups."

"I see. Whose idea was that?"

The question was directed at Lorne but it was Todd who answered. "Two corridors led in opposite directions so Colonel Sheppard and I agreed dividing our resources was the best course of action…"

"No one asked you…" Ronon declared, the single, unemotional tone of his voice doing little to mask the underlying resentment.

"Ronon," Woolsey snapped sharply, "we're here to find out what happened so I'd appreciate all of you keeping your thoughts and opinions to yourselves until we know the facts. Continue please major."

"Colonel Sheppard and," Lorne jabbed a finger in Todd's direction, "his scientist went off in one direction with some marines and wraith, the rest of us went the other way and ended up in what turned out to be the accommodation and living quarters. Major Sheppard radioed us to say they'd found something interesting he didn't say what, so we headed back along the way they'd gone." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, glancing quickly at McKay who nodded in agreement. "We hadn't got far when Dr McKay's life sign detector indicated that they'd disappeared."

"Really? All of them? Just disappeared? Without warning?" Woolsey tried to keep the scepticism out of his questions but the glances thrown in his direction from the surviving mission participants, human and wraith, were proof he had not tried hard enough.

"Yep." McKay leaned forward before Lorne had a chance to reply, the stubborn set of his jaw telegraphing his determination to have his say this time. "Just disappeared, there one minute, gone the next."

"I wanted to go find out what had happened to them straight away," Lorne continued, his voice still carrying remnants of the irritation that this course of action had not been taken, "but I was persuaded it was better to come back here."

"Their life signs had completely disappeared and I decided it was better to seek additional resources for a search rather than venture blindly into the same trap that Colonel Sheppard had encountered." As Todd's multi-toned voice echoed around the room he also leaned forward, entwining his long fingers together before placing his hands on the table and casting a haughty look at the faces turned in his direction.

Woolsey had seen similar gestures before from men, military and civilian, who knew they would eventually be called on to answer for actions taken under difficult circumstances. Assuming an offensive attitude, presenting an open invitation to any who wanted to challenge their right and authority to have made such decisions.

Out of the corner of his eye, Woolsey saw Ronon finally sit up in his seat, folding broad arms across an equally broad chest to assume what could only be described as an equally confrontational stance. Again he sensed an attitude of determined yet muted restraint guiding the big man's actions.

Glancing quickly between the two natural enemies, seeing the growing animosity etched in each face, the determination to dominate the other, Woolsey knew he had to act quickly to keep things under control but nevertheless found himself faced with a dilemma. Either keep a tight rein on this strange gathering to move it in the direction he wanted or step back, allow the conversation, if it could be called that, to flow naturally and hopefully reveal some clue. Some stray piece of information, the importance of which the speaker had missed in the emotion of the situation at the Lantean facility. A risky strategy, one that was at odds with his naturally cautious nature but one that would either clear some of the tension that was filling the room or make things worse.

Time to decide was about to run out though as he realised Ronon was going to enter the conversation, so guided by his inherent mistrust of Todd combined with the seriousness of the situation, he decided on the more risky approach and just sat back.

"That because you know what's happened to them?" the Satedan asked.

Todd chuckled. A surprisingly casual response, totally at odds with the mood in the room until it was followed up by a harsh, terse hiss. "Ah, yes, Sheppard's runner. I am relieved to see you are well after all, I was a little concerned when you failed to accompany your master ... but you obviously had your reasons for allowing him to go on this mission without your protection?" A mocking smile flittered across Todd's face, staying just long enough to make its meaning clear before he continued. "Of course, like you, I was not there to see what happened to either the Colonel or my Chief Scientist so I know nothing more than Major Lorne or Dr McKay."

"I don't believe you," Ronon challenged, his flat voice camouflaging the emotion Woolsey knew was bubbling just below the surface.

"I don't care what you believe," Todd replied, his voice similarly flat as he sat up straighter and leaned in towards his antagonist.

But something, perhaps the way the wraith's eyes flitted around the room as he spoke or the seemingly nervous movement of his hands, caught Woolsey's attention. A lifetime of interviews, some would call them interrogations, as a government investigator had given him a sophisticated understanding of when some fact, some opinion, no matter how small, was being hidden.

Todd was lying, covering his deception by baiting Ronon. Woolsey's bureaucratic radar was sure of it but before he had chance to make his own challenge, a voice echoed through his personal communicator.

"_Mr Woolsey, sorry to disturb you sir, but I thought you needed to know that the wraith hive is just about to re-enter the atmosphere and it looks like they're heading this way."_

Woolsey huffed very softly. Just as he had anticipated, Todd had recalled the hive just as he would have done himself in the same position. A quick tap of the comms device, subtle enough to go unnoticed by the other occupants of the table whose attention was drawn towards Ronon and Todd, was all the response needed to confirm receipt of the brief message.

As man and wraith continued to stare at each other, their mutual dislike etched on their faces as both waited for the other to speak, Woolsey was suddenly struck by how little he understood the complexities of relationships in this alien galaxy. But now, with people fidgeting in their seats, feeding on the tension that permeated the room, was not the time for philosophical musings.

A small cough to clear his throat was enough to draw attention back in his direction. "I tend to agree with Ronon here. The fact that your hive has returned, obviously under orders from you, is all the confirmation I need that there is more going on here. I don't believe you're lying outright rather failing to tell us something you know is relevant to this situation."

In a human Woolsey would have labelled the look that fleetingly crossed Todd's face as indecision but he knew wraith were not subject to the same range of emotions that dogged human behaviour. Nevertheless, as the wraith took a deep breath and surveyed the faces turned in his direction though carefully hooded eyes, Woolsey was sure options were being considered behind the scenes.

When Todd finally spoke the tone of his voice lacked some of its usual quite brazen confidence, confirming Woolsey's suspicions. "There may be something that could be relevant to this situation." Todd paused, turning his shaggy head slightly to face Woolsey.

But his face revealed nothing. If he was indeed having any concerns about what he was about to reveal, he was keeping them well hidden behind a sombre but confident gaze. Yet another deliberate strategy, one that gave Woolsey a glimpse of the seasoned manipulator with whom he was matching wits. He just raised his eyebrows but remained silent.

Todd looked around the table before continuing. "There are some stories, myths, of Lanteans who stayed behind after their defeat to protect facilities such as this one from ever falling into wraith hands. Those who believe in such illusions call them the Guardians. Most wraith are not so easily fooled though, they see such stories for what they are, an excuse perpetuated by weak commanders to explain their failed attempts to access Lantean secrets immediately following our victory. Some lost underlings in these forays and no wraith likes to be seen to be beaten by an enemy, particularly not by humans who had fled in disgrace rather than fight to the end."

"I see," based on this brief description Woolsey shared the wraith's scepticism but still felt a surge of anger that any information, even something so intangible, had been withheld, "and you saw no reason to tell us about these Guardians."

Todd's lips curled contemptuously as he continued to describe something he clearly found distasteful. "No. I have never had time for fantasies based on myth rather than scientific fact. Certainly the Lanteans placed safeguards on their facilities, we have seen evidence of that and if I remember correctly I told you all about that, in fact I made it quite clear that was one of the reasons I asked for your involvement."

"I told you he wasn't to be trusted, that nothing good would come from this little scheme of his." Ronon might be restraining himself but it was taking a significant effort and the tone of his voice indicated that perhaps the spring was starting to unwind.

Woolsey's lips pursed unconsciously as he considered how best to stop that from happening. Colonel Sheppard would have used his authority to settle the Satedan but following their little chat in the canteen over lunch yesterday, he knew similar respect for his own authority was less forthcoming at the moment.

Nevertheless it was up to him to act so he moved to take control of the situation starting with a warning nod in Ronon's direction. "Thank you Ronon, I don't need to be reminded of your views about this operation." Followed by a sour frown towards Todd. "Nor do I need to be reminded of why you came asking for our help. Can I remind you both that there are more important things at stake here than your personal dislikes and vendettas, you both need to focus on the job if we are to get Colonel Sheppard and your scientist back -"

"My scientist is already dead," Todd interrupted, "if this is indeed another Lantean trap it would have been designed to kill wraith rather than capture them."

"Yes, I imagine it probably would but I would hope you have some interest in finding Colonel Sheppard?"

"Sheppard's missing because of his lies, he's coming whether he's interested or not." Ronon interjected.

Todd smiled but any humour it might have held was dampened by the display of small, sharp teeth and the accompanying low growl. "Of course, I am happy to help find Colonel Sheppard and," he turned his attention to McKay, "of course, there is still the matter of the important technology we now know this facility must hold."

"Searching for technology is at the bottom of our list of priorities," Woolsey threw a pre-emptive frown in McKay's direction, "until we find our people. But to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure this new information you've finally decided to divulge would have changed my decision about becoming involved given the possible nature of that technology." The frown was briefly bestowed on Todd. "What it would have changed was the way we approached the whole expedition but that's irrelevant now. The bottom line is we have people missing and we need to find out what happened and get them back. Major Lorne, in Colonel Sheppard's absence you are the expedition's military leader so take as many men, including Ronon, as you feel necessary to carry out this operation." Again he turned back to Todd. "I imagine you would want to take your er ... wraith with you?"

Todd nodded.

"Very well. And the small matter of your hive again sitting above this city?"

"A necessary precaution, I'm sure you understand," Todd purred before injecting a harder edge to his tone, "they will return to the outer edges of this system when I leave this city and not before."

Not the ideal situation but the city was safe as long as Todd remained safe so Woolsey knew little would be gained from trying to push for an immediate departure. "Very well. I don't think I need to tell any of you that time is of the essence here," without exception every head around the table nodded in agreement. "One last thing though, I want Dr Collins to accompany you."

"What…? Why?" McKay was already half way out of his seat but sat down again, making little effort to hide the scorn in his voice. "He's only just arrived here so I doubt very much if there's anything he can do to help, in fact he'll just be a liability."

A spark of irritation towards McKay flashed through Woolsey's mind. "Dr McKay this not negotiable. May I remind you he comes with very good credentials and since he's been studying Ancient facilities with Dr Jackson..."

"Exactly," McKay interjected, "he won't be any use at all."

"Your personal opinion is not required here thank you." Woolsey snapped as he pushed back his chair, stood up and looked at the young archaeologist who had entered to room unnoticed during the course of the meeting. If he had not listened to McKay's off-hand advice that Collins was not needed on the first expedition to this facility perhaps they might not be in this situation. "Dr Collins is going and it'll be your responsibility to make sure he remains safe."

_**x-X-x**_

Again Todd found himself relegated to the back cabin of the puddle jumper but again he did not really care. Already he knew this short journey would be more crowded than the one that had brought him to Atlantis but it would also be far more entertaining.

To begin with the Satedan was present, seated in the front cabin, turning on regular intervals to cast malevolent glances in his direction. So predictable. But then Todd was all too aware that the nonchalant looks he threw back were just as predictable. He shot a quick glance at the back of the Satedan's head. Despite their enormous differences, both understood it was part of a game. A little diversion they were destined to play until the time came to finally resolve their differences in the only way the Satedan would understand and the only way a wraith could deem acceptable for dealing with a runner who now thought himself better than those who had once owned him.

But his feud was not what sparked his interest. No, that was reserved for the young man who now sat opposite, unable to hide his discomfort over being in such close proximity to a group of wraith.

From the moment he had hesitantly placed his right foot on the ramp leading into the cabin this unknown human had drawn Todd's attention. Tall, almost as tall as the Satedan but lacking the power and arrogance that marked the runner's demeanour. Todd had watched him enter the cabin and take a seat after being curtly told get out of the way and do something useful by Dr McKay.

This must be the Dr Collins that Mr Woolsey had ordered accompany them. Todd huffed softly to himself. Once, before he had met John Sheppard, human names had been irrelevant to him and the beings who carried them were nothing more than a source of energy. Now he found himself valuing these particular humans on Atlantis as a source of information and intelligence although deep down he knew he would have no qualms using them to feed his hive if the situation ever became that desperate.

Collins was looking around, exuding a thick aura of curiosity infused with fearful apprehension. Despite the primitive human weapon that now lay uncomfortably across his knees, this was clearly no mindless soldier while the knowledge guiding the curiosity confirmed he was no mere technician either. A gentle smile briefly touched Todd's lips. A mind tempered by a fear of the unknown but infused with such a level of curiosity produced fertile ground for an inquisitive wraith to explore.

"Keep your mouth shut," a familiar voice cut into his musings.

Uncertain if the Satedan's barked order was directed at him or at Dr Collins, Todd just ignored it. The young man glanced in the direction from which the voice had come but had no chance to speak, if indeed he had anything to say.

"Don't worry Doc," Major Lorne declared, "you're safe with us here."

Todd rolled his eyes and shook his head. It was tempting to throw a challenge at these humans, ask them exactly why they thought he might be foolish enough to try to feed in this environment . Perhaps if Sheppard were here the amusement gained from such a mischief might have been worth the effort but the prospect of getting information out of this newcomer was far more enticing. "What are you?" he asked casually, ignoring the two Atlanteans.

The pair of striking blue eyes that had been making a determined effort to look everywhere but in his direction finally turned in his direction. "I'm sorry," Collins stammered, "I'm not sure what you mean?"

"You are clearly not a warrior and Dr McKay's remarks about the value of bringing you along tells me you are probably not one of his scientists. So what are you?" Todd elaborated with what he hoped would come across as a brief but encouraging smile.

"Oh, I see, err, no, I'm an archaeologist, I study ancient societies."

Todd nodded. "So you know much about the Lanteans, I suppose that is why you have been sent here?"

"Yes, I've been studying Lantean ruins and artefacts discovered in our galaxy," the young man paused, "there are quite a lot of them."

"Indeed, so why did you not accompany us on the first visit to this world? Perhaps your knowledge and experience might have saved us from this unfortunate mishap."

Collins's face was transformed by a flush of blood that Todd found a little surprising. It had not been his intention to challenge, he was genuinely interested in the answer, but as he watched the young man squirm uncomfortably he was again reminded of how little he really understood some of the finer subtleties of human behaviour.

"I was off world with another team and," Collins glanced towards the front cabin before lowering his voice, "apparently Dr McKay saw no reason to recall me."

"Ah, I see." Todd nodded his head. "It must have been an important mission?"

Collins shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Not really, I was collecting and cataloguing artefacts," again he paused as if a thought had suddenly occurred, "artefacts are-"

"Thank you but I know what artefacts are. I have quite a collection of them on my hive, human artefacts I'm sure you'll find very interesting."

The eyes opened wider and Todd detected an accompanying surge of concerned surprise. "I'm not sure …"

With a quiet chuckle and shake of his head he moved to quell the fears. "You need not worry Dr Collins, I have never fed on a visitor who I have invited from Atlantis and I see no reason why you would be the first." The smile disappeared. Enough bantering, it was time to test the young man's knowledge of more than mere artefacts. "You heard me talk of the ones known as Guardians?

Leaning forward slightly Collins nodded and Todd knew he had the young man's full attention.

"Have you have seen anything in your own galaxy that might lead do you believe such beings might in fact be a reality rather than a myth?"

Collins shrugged his shoulders and smiled although Todd found it difficult to see any humour in the question. "Oh, yes, I've seen some pretty strange things out there and I've read mission reports about beings whose only purpose was to protect a civilisation from their more powerful enemies. I'd say it's quite possible these Guardians of yours exist and it would actually be quite exciting to meet them."

Todd just growled before closing his eyes and leaning back to rest his head against the jumper wall. Not what he wanted to hear. Unheralded and unwanted, some of the fear and trepidation he had felt when they realised his scientist and Sheppard had disappeared came flooding back. As the jumper entered the event horizon he was forced to face the reality that this was a journey from which he might not return.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Tanus peered through the semi-darkness into the cell, his eyes still sensitive from the effects of what he now knew had been millennia spent in stasis. It took a few minutes but eventually he found the outline of a figure, sitting on the floor, leaning against the back wall with its head bent forward as if sleeping.

Under normal circumstances he would have simply activated the lighting but these were not normal circumstances. Just coming here had been a risk with every third or fourth step accompanied by a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he was not being followed. It was unlikely he would be missed but lighting was a different matter altogether. Midian was checking the facility's systems prior to taking them both back into stasis and would be sure to notice the increased levels of power any lighting would generate. From there his superior would be sure to link such a surge in usage to the underling with whom he had so recently exchanged differing views about how to deal with these humans.

But despite his apprehension, something strange was happening. The longer he stood in front of the cell, drawing the cool, stale air into his lungs and listening through the oppressive silence that filled the catacombs for any sounds he might have been followed, fear of Midian's anger started to ebb away.

Curiosity reared its head again. The same curiosity that had driven his argument with Midian, only now it took control. So many questions pushed their way around in his mind, about himself, his people and the world outside. So many questions that formed far more quickly and easily than any answers.

While no bars blocked his steps, this was his prison as surely as it held the dark figure in the shadows. Which meant that the only way he could even begin to get answers, especially about events since he had last walked on the surface above, was here talking to this man. A complete stranger with whom he felt a familiar link despite their lives being separated by vast distances in time and space even his scientifically trained mind found difficult to comprehend.

"So you've come to do the right thing and let us go?"

Even though he held the advantage here, Tanus's heart still leapt at the sound of another's voice echoing out against hard walls. A strong voice delivered with a strange accent but loaded with ill-concealed antagonism. Tanus was not really surprised. He had overheard the earlier conversation when Midian delivered his cold advice about leaving these strangers here to die.

But watching the man stretch, get to his feet then stretch again, Tanus realised how unprepared he was for this meeting. No plan to perhaps help these humans, not even any thought about how to conduct this conversation. Getting information from what he assumed would be an uncooperative source, prisoner, a human who collaborated with wraith no less, was an entirely new experience further complicated by some niggling doubts about whether he should be thinking of this man as a prisoner at all.

As he considered an appropriate reply to the stranger's question, he also realised the journey he had started by coming here would be far more complicated than he had first imagined. "You should not have come here with our enemies but you did and I will try to help you and your men if I can. What is your name?"

Exchanging names was the polite way to start a conversation with strangers and the quick nod of this one's head confirmed such as approach was still appropriate. "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, I'm the military commander of the Earth expedition to Atlantis. And who -"

Tanus interrupted thoughtfully. "Lieutenant Colonel? Your title I assume, your military rank?"

Finally the man walked over to the bars and Tanus found himself face-to-face with another of roughly the same height and build but with hair that seemed ruled by a mind of its own. Dressed in a dark uniform with strange identification patches, this one called Sheppard carried himself with confidence; rather more confidence that Tanus knew he would have been able to muster if their positions were reversed. But a closer look at his face, even in the dim light, revealed lines of growing hunger and shadows of uncertainty belied by the tenor of his voice.

"Yeah, you can call me Sheppard. Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Tanus, I am a Guardian."

"A Guardian? Of this place?" Sheppard's brow rose as he asked the questions, reflecting the effort to absorb this new information. Tanus simply nodded confirmation rather than trying to explain in more detail and allowed the other to continue. "Which means you and laughing boy who was down here before are Ancients … err, Lanteans? And I guess you were left here to deal with any wraith smart enough to find this place?"

"Yes Sheppard, that was our primary duty but your coming here has challenged that responsibility..." Tanus hesitated as the full implications of what he was doing, what he was saying, took hold, "...for me at least. I never anticipated, never imagined that wraith would come here with other humans," he felt a slight flush of emotion rise up and he looked down at his hands in an effort to keep it hidden, "and it is not our duty kill other humans."

"That's not what the other guy said. He seemed pretty set on making sure none of us get out of here so why're you here telling me you'll help us? And by-the-way, where the hell are the rest of my team?

"They are safe but Midian decided you needed to be kept isolated from each other, I'm not sure why. I heard what he said to you but I do not agree with him." Yet again Tanus glanced nervously back along the corridor. "He does not know I am here, he thinks I am carrying out my duties before we return to stasis."

"Midian? That's the old guy who was down here before right?" Tanus nodded as Sheppard paused briefly. "So what makes you see us differently?"

Tanus took a deep breath. "Midian is a soldier; he is concerned about doing his duty at all cost." Even the time spent in stasis had not dulled the contempt he felt for such a singular, inflexible attitude and he made little attempt to hide it. "I am not a soldier, I am a scientist so while I share his hatred for the wraith, I don't share his dedication to their destruction at the expense of all other considerations. But as the war turned against us I was one of many conscripted to undergo military training, only very basic training mind you, just enough to see me ordered to stay here when the facility was evacuated."

He paused but Sheppard seemed content to keep listening. "As a scientist I'm curious," a wry smile twisted the corner of his listener's mouth as Tanus continued, "I want to know why you would have dealings with the wraith, why they would bother to use you for anything other than a source of food. You carry an essence of familiarity that tells me we are of the same blood but where have you come from, what is the place you call Earth, where is it, how long have you been here, do you know what happened to our people when they left the galaxy? What -"

"Whoa, whoa," Sheppard raised his hands as if to stop the tidal wave of questions with his open palms, "curiosity is good but right now I'd prefer something just a little more substantial, like what you can do to get us out of here."

"Yes, you're right, first things first," Tanus tried to sound as if he knew what he was doing but faced with the reality of coming up with a way to fulfil the rather rash promise of help, he unconsciously reverted to stating the obvious. "It won't be easy."

"So no just walking out the door then?"

Tanus shook his head vigorously. Perhaps he had misjudged this man? How could anyone imagine that escape from a trap set for such deadly enemies as wraith could be that easy. "This was a trap for our mortal enemies Colonel Sheppard, it was designed to kill, a way out was not deemed necessary."

A smile flittered across Sheppard's face. "Well, actually I didn't really think … never mind … so we need to be a little more creative and trust me, I've been in enough of these situations to know exactly how tricky it can be to get out of them. In fact it was a situation not unlike this that led to our dealings with the wraith, one in particular, the devious so-and-so who was smart enough to find this place."

This time Tanus's brow spontaneously shot up in surprise at this revelation. "So you have worked with these wraith before? And you call him devious so you obviously understand what sort of creatures they are, how they will stop at nothing to achieve their own ends, and yet still you deal with them? You'll have to excuse me if I find that extremely disturbing."

Sheppard laughed, a short snort of derision. "Yeah, trust me, so do I but like I told your boss, things have changed. Look we can talk about that later, right now I'd like to get back my team and have you put us back where you found us."

Tanus sighed. He would very much like to know how things could possibly have changed so much that dealing with the wraith was an acceptable course of action but again Sheppard was right so he kept his questions to himself, for the time being anyway.

Biting his bottom lip softly, he thought back to those final desperate hours before entering stasis when he had been told what his duties would be if ever the facility was breached, given details of the security mechanisms that protected the place, as he tried to work out if there were any weaknesses he could manipulate now.

Nothing came to mind and he was beginning to feel a sense of utter failure until a single thought suddenly broke through the despondency, forcing its way up from the depth of his memories. An experimental project he had once worked on under the tutorage of one of the senior scientists, one that had been abandoned because of a significant shortcoming but one that might be of value now.

"You must wait here," he ordered, turning away just as Sheppard rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Yeah, right, where else do you think…"

But Tanus was already on his way, heading back into the shadows as quickly and quietly as he had come, his mind drawing together the threads of a plan that might be the one and only chance of survival for them all.

_**x-X-x**_

It had been raining. For as long as Todd could remember he had disliked rain, so intrusive and unpredictable, but if there was one saving grace, it was the fact that it seemed to have stopped. For the time being anyway. And he had to admit there were some benefits, particularly here on this heavily forested world.

As the back hatch of the jumper was lowered, his eyes flickered briefly as scents thrown up by the downpour began to swirl in and infiltrate his well-developed senses. He took a long, deep breath. While the prospect of more rain was annoying, the rich organic essences surging through his sensory pits brought a degree of satisfying, and welcome, comfort he had not felt since leaving the hive. Of course these scents and auras were subtly different in composition and far less powerful than those that provided sustenance on his hive, but their organic traces were much less offensive to wraith olfactory receptors than the dry, sterile, artificial air of Atlantis and its alien human odours.

With the exception of Dr Collins, the humans had risen from their seats as soon as Major Lorne manoeuvred their craft to land on the planet's surface. Their impatience to get this rescue mission underway masking their uncertainties and fears that it might well turn out to be an exercise in retrieving bodies.

But as the cabin filled with buzz of human activity, Todd and his three warriors also remained seated. The straight-backed warriors looking like a row of statues, weapons resting across their knees, while their commander remained deceptively quiet, projecting his mind out beyond the confines of this small metal box to survey their surroundings.

It was quickly evident that they had landed much closer to their destination than during their first visit and now sat in the small clearing in front of the Lantean facility. Leaning forward slightly, he turned towards the front cabin, glancing past the tall figure of the Satedan, past Dr McKay bent over the control console and out through the jumper's sloping front window to see the facility entrance bathed in the late afternoon sun. Another indicator that perhaps the rain had passed.

"Get up," a harsh voice rasped, snarling down at him with a force that pulled his attention roughly and squarely back inside the jumper, "and move out slowly."

Todd leaned back again, resting his head against the jumper wall as he looked up, his hands flexing unconsciously as an equally spontaneous growl rose in his throat, a long, low, response thick with impatience that he made no attempt to stifle.

"I am quite capable of finding my way off this craft and into the facility without help from a runner. After all," a healthy dose of arrogant superiority was infused into his tone, "unlike you I have already visited this place, walked its long abandoned corridors." Finally he rose to his feet, keeping the Satedan's eyes locked to his own before transferring his gaze turned towards Major Lorne. "Major, in Colonel Sheppard's absence I assume you are the runner's keeper so I strongly advise you to keep him under control."

The Satedan growled and stepped forward, his dark eyes pools of pure hatred, but Todd stood his ground, hissing under his breath. Those brief moments of doubt about returning to this place that dogged his thoughts as they left Atlantis were just a memory as he took a deep breath, lifted his shoulders and pushed his chin out belligerently.

Immediately he sensed the warriors behind him respond, rising to their feet as they fed off his aggression, weapons raised ready to act on either an explicit order from their commander or a direct assault on his person. In response the four marines also readied for action, only Collins remained seated, transfixed in his seat by the theatre going on around him.

While Todd's logic argued this was no place for confrontation, it was drowned out by basic instincts and millennia of experience that refused to submit. Clearly he was outnumbered but these humans could not be allowed to believe he would be bullied into taking a backward step, particularly when standing against one he knew he could, no, would beat when it came to their final showdown.

What happened next was surprising and totally unexpected, to Todd at least. Although a good head shorter and considerably smaller than both man and wraith, Major Lorne did not hesitate to quickly place himself between the two adversaries, a gesture Todd found commendable given his previous low estimation of the major's abilities.

"Okay, cut the macho crap both of you. We need to stay focused on finding and rescuing Colonel Sheppard and his team and if you two can't manage that I'll take you right back to Atlantis now before you can waste any more time."

Tension twisted across the major's face as he spoke, and a thin veneer of perspiration formed on his forehead. Behind it Todd sensed a mind oscillating between determination to maintain control of the situation and fear of what would happen if he failed.

The restrained silence that followed this declaration was overpowering, broken only by the rhythmic dripping of rainwater draining off the back of the jumper. As he scanned the faces, which interestingly were all turned in his direction, Todd quickly weighed up his options.

Certainly Colonel Sheppard and Atlantis were very useful allies, ones he would like to avoid alienating or losing completely but this confrontation was not of his making. He had merely responded to the Satedan's obvious need to dominate, something he understood but would not abide.

As the drip of rainwater started to slow, yet again a circuit breaker came from yet another slightly unexpected source. Dr McKay moved to stand beside Lorne and began darting annoyed glares between the large antagonists. "I agree, both of you lighten up, at least until we've got Sheppard and the others back."

Todd huffed softly as logic finally triumphed. These two humans were quite right, this was no time for intransigence and he was suddenly annoyed with his own inability to resist engaging in such behaviour. It was neither helpful nor befitting one of his rank, but just as he was about to step back the Satedan broke the impasse by roughly pushing past all who stood in his way, including a broad shoulder deliberately launched squarely into Todd's equally broad shoulder, until he strode unimpeded down the ramp.

"You know things'll probably go a lot more smoothly if you just keep your cool, keep your mouth shut and stay focused." McKay muttered as he turned to pick up his portable computer pad.

A terse response formed on Todd's lips but he bit it back, albeit reluctantly. Dr McKay's mumbling statement could be applied equally to both the Satedan and himself and Todd knew all too well that this human was immune to subtleties so rather than dignify the scientist's views with a response, he was content to merely hiss softly under his breath.

_**x-X-x**_

_You must wait here._

Not the most useful instruction he had ever been given but then, if Sheppard had read his prospective new ally rightly, it had been delivered by a man whose slightly hesitant manner spoke of a distinct lack of confidence rather than the Lanteans' usual excessive sense of superiority and arrogance.

So for a while he waited. Standing exactly where Tanus had left him, arms folded, left shoulder leaning against the wall as he looked out into the dim corridor beyond his cell. He was confident this aspiring rescuer would return before too long but time passed slowly in the dim silence and eventually, despite his enthusiasm for getting out and back to the surface, he was finally distracted by more pressing, more personal issues.

Food and drink, or rather the lack of both.

After gnawing gently in the back of his mind for what must have been several hours, hunger started to become more rampant. He looked at the illuminated face of his watch. The team had eaten a substantial meal before leaving Atlantis but that was now almost twelve hours ago. No wonder his subconscious was starting to conjure up increasingly vivid thoughts some of his favourites - a burger, with fries and a beer, in a bottle, with beads of icy cold condensation rolling slowly down the sides.

He shook his head a couple of times before lifting his hands to rub tired eyes. Got to stay focussed. He had been in situations at least as bad as this before and survived so no reason to doubt he would come out of this alive.

With one last look towards the dark corridor into which Tanus had disappeared, he returned to his original spot at the back of the cell where he again sank down onto the floor. It might be cold, hard and uninviting but there was no use wasting energy standing, especially when he had no idea what any plan to get out of here might involve or how much energy it might demand.

Right now he had to stay positive though. Two things were certain; that there would be a rescue mission launched from Atlantis and that he could not just wait here expecting it to be successful.

Banishing all images of burgers and beer to the back of his mind, he replayed his brief conversation with Tanus.

Had he really learned much beyond the fact that some Lanteans seem more humane than others although he was sure there was a healthy dose of self-interest in Tanus's attitudes? Sheppard thought back to all the other Ancients he had met in Pegasus and only the unnamed captain of the Aurora bore any resemblance to this man. Both were prepared to listen and both seemed oddly humble and principled when compared to that damned woman Helia whose arrogant dismissal of help after taking over Atlantis had cost her crew their lives and almost sacrificed the city to the Replicators.

This man sounded honest enough though. Certainly his opinion of the other Ancient, Midian, seemed to match the one Sheppard had formed during that brief but decisive encounter and his offer to help appeared quite genuine but Sheppard knew from previous experience that there were still many hurdles to jump before he was back on Atlantis. That he might not get back to Atlantis one way or another was not an idea he was prepared to accommodate, not yet anyway.

There was no doubt in his mind that a rescue mission would be launched from Atlantis but it would take time plus he knew, or rather hoped, that they would be far more cautious in their exploration now they were aware of the dangers this place held.

He leaned his head back against the cold surface of the wall. Last time he had faced the prospect of escaping from an underground complex, his companion had been Todd. Sheppard laughed, a curt, humourless laugh, a mix of regret and that unpleasant realisation that comes with the benefit of hindsight that your concerns had been right after all.

Trusting Todd had turned out to be a mistake yet again. Of course there would be apologies and he could hear the wraith explaining that he knew nothing of this little hiccup to their plan, his deep voice full of mock remorse and … Sheppard paused as a thought sudden sprang up in his mind. Would Todd have knowingly sent his Chief Scientist to his death if he knew such a trap existed? Perhaps he was judging too harshly without knowing all the facts?

"Colonel Sheppard."

The whispered voice startled him slightly but rising to his feet quickly he banished all thoughts of Todd.

"You took your time." It was perhaps a slightly ungracious response to a man Sheppard knew was risking much to help him but etiquette was not his main consideration here.

Tanus obviously felt just a little put out by being challenged too. "I risk much to help you Colonel and as I said this place was not designed to release its prey once they were snared."

"Yeah, look, I'm sorry but I'm hungry and that tends to make me just a little cranky. Trust me, I understand what you're doing can't be easy, that you're having difficulty understanding why we would be working with the wraith but I can't give you answers now, not until my team and I are safe."

"I had other things to attend to before I returned here Colonel."

_Other things? _A small bubble of concern started to form in Sheppard's mind. What kind of things?"

"I had to reset the mechanism that was triggered by the wraith you brought here Colonel. I cannot leave the facility vulnerable to any further incursions."

Sheppard did not respond immediately as the bubble grew into a substantial concern. Finally he pushed his face just a little closer to the bars. "Okay, so I'm pretty sure someone'll be on their way to rescue us, will they end up down here too?"

"Only if they bring more wraith with them. But if they enter the laboratories they will find nothing, no clue to your fate, nothing. As I said, we did not really anticipate this place being found by other humans."

Todd. Sheppard was pretty certain that Ronon and Woolsey would insist on the wraith being part of any rescue mission and while the prospect of him meeting the same lethal fate as his scientist was quite attractive, there were too many uncertainties involved to allow others to be captured.

Rodney might figure out that his team's disappearance was linked to their wraith companions but he could not be sure and he would not take that risk. The only thing to do was get out of here and head off the rescuers before they reached the laboratories.

"Okay, in that case we need to get out of here pretty damned quick. What've you got in mind?"

The Lantean passed his hand and forearm through the bars of the cell and presented a small handheld gadget that looked remarkably similar to a life signs detector. "I think this is probably the only thing that might help."

Neither Tanus's words nor the hesitant manner in which he delivered them instilled confidence. Sheppard took the gadget and examined it as well as he could in the dim light. It was obviously based on the detector, the main screen was the same, but it had a couple of other buttons and felt slightly heavier. "So what is it?"

"It is a personal transporter, an experimental project we were working on before the war began. It is based on our life-sign detectors but with some additional features, those two dials on the side are used to set the coordinates of your destination and that small orange pad on the bottom activates the transportation process." Tanus pulled another one of the gadgets out of his pocket and ran his forefinger over the orange pad. "But a couple of problems emerged during the early testing phase, for some reason we had some difficulties with people reaching the designated destination and the idea was abandoned once the war started and it became too risky to have people possibly falling into wraith hands."

Rodney McKay's voice echoed through the back of Sheppard's mind, its dismissive tones declaring that this was just another piece of failed Lantean technology.

"You're not related to a guy called Janus by any chance?" Sheppard asked with a wry smile.

"Yes, we are … we were from the same family." Tanus's face also lit up with a smile that spoke of respect and loyalty to a man he cleared liked. "It was he who encouraged me to become a scientist, gave me ideas. Have you heard of him?"

"Oh, yeah, we've had various opportunities to ... err ... deal with his experiments." Sheppard declared, raising his eyebrows as he briefly recalled some of those opportunities.

"He was a brilliant man but somewhat erratic," Tanus declared wistfully. "He had some quite heated and public disputes with the Council and some quite spectacular failures that diminished his standing with some of our other scientists."

"Yeah, like I said, we've come across some of those failures, the Attero Device…"

"You found the Attero Device? Did you activate it?" asked Tanus, his voice filled with horror at such a prospect.

"Yes, but don't worry it was destroyed when we discovered the unfortunate side effects." Fascinating as this family history was, it was not getting them out of this facility so Sheppard turned back to the small device nestled neatly in the palm of his hand. "But let's get back to your little invention here. You say it was experimental so have you got enough of them to get all my team out of here?"

Tanus shook his head. "No there are only two left but that is all we need. There is another way to access this area but I am the only one who can operate it and that can only be done from outside, from the laboratory you found. Once we have escaped we can come back, rescue your men and be gone again before Midian knows what is happening."

So there was another way out but you had to be on the outside to activate it. Sounded like something the Lanteans would come up with but in Sheppard's mind the little issue of problems with the testing of the device assumed far more significant than Tanus seemed prepared to recognise.

"Okay let me just get this straight before we go any further down this path of 'this is the only thing that might help'. If I press here," Sheppard lightly brushed the small orange pad on the bottom of the device, "I'll be teleported out of this facility but not necessarily to the coordinates I've keyed in here?" he pointed at the twin dials.

"Exactly Colonel Sheppard," the Lantean's voice carried hope mixed with disappointment, "we can escape but I feel I must be honest with you and say that there is a chance we may not end up where we planned to go."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Dear Reader, you have waited a long time for this chapter so thank you for your patience. Life has been busy and inspiration has scarce but having finally got this new chapter out into the light of day, I'm hopeful we'll be finished shortly._

**Chapter 9**

"Don't go believing he's interested in you, you're nothing, if he decides to feed on you he won't care who you are or what you do."

Ronon Dex's warning floated across the still early evening air just as the mismatched party of humans and wraith began moving cautiously into the Ancient facility. Although only half-whispered, by Ronon's standards at least, the words were clear enough to cut through the low, undulating humming of the first nocturnal insects to disturb the heady mix of excitement and apprehension that was guiding John Collins's footsteps.

Instinctively, as though under an unexpected and unwarranted attack, the young man froze for a second, muscles tensing, heart accelerating for a handful of beats. Of course the advice was meant for him, who else could it be for, but he was not naïve enough to assume that was its only purpose. Sure enough, within seconds a low growl rumbling from deep inside the tall, black-clad figure walking just ahead seemed to confirm his assessment. As did the smug smile that touched Ronon's dark eyes when Collins turned to acknowledge the advice.

"Thanks." He muttered, wanting to say more but knowing it would be a waste of time. Instead he just forced a weak, humourless smile-come-grimace to skim across his own face. Despite their massive cultural differences, he knew Ronon would understand it for what it was - a polite yet meaningless gesture. It was far more than that for Collins though. For him it served the additional purpose of masking the irritation that had started to ruffle his usual calm demeanour.

A subtle curse, whispered under his breath, helped too. After all this was not about him. This was all just a game, part of the potentially lethal duel being waged around him, around them all, by these two aliens. A game that both players seemed intent on drawing him into as some sort of peripheral contestant, a pawn, and right now he felt powerless to escape their manipulations.

Bending his head to navigate the first untidy curtain of low hanging roots and vegetation, his hands tightened around his P90. Not in response to any immediate physical threat, real or imaginary, rather it was a spontaneous gesture driven by the sense of indignation that was now engaged in a silent battle with the irritation for control of his emotions.

Okay ... sure ... he was yet to prove himself during an off-world mission with the Satedan but he was no novice when it came to exploring new worlds and dealing with their alien inhabitants. An apprenticeship served under the watchful eye of Daniel Jackson, a man he held in far more esteem than any of the archaeologists he had come across in Atlantis, had introduced him to his fair share of cultures, human and non-human, friendly and hostile. Of course there were new challenges here in Pegasus. That had been reinforced the minute he stepped through the gate for the first time, indeed that was one of the reasons why he had applied for this posting. But he had never shied away from those challenges and was confident about handling any situation, planned and unplanned, he might confront here. Even one that held the edgy combination of danger and melancholy that was infusing this particular expedition.

A long, deep breath bombarded his senses with the unique odours generated by all such long-abandoned, decaying structures, triggering memories of other explorations and providing a welcome reminder that out of this whole expedition team, he was the one operating in familiar territory. It helped put things into perspective. Ronon's lack of confidence, in both his capabilities and his judgement, was disappointing but experience told him nothing would be gained from trying to argue his point. Ronon might be an alien but Collins had met his kind before. Men who found little value in well-constructed, logical arguments, for whom actions always spoke louder than words.

It was probably the same for the tall black figure who walked immediately ahead, carrying himself with a straight back and a sense of innate haughtiness that Collins had seen before in creatures who thought themselves superior to humans. While this one was even more alien that Ronon, Collins had a hunch he operated in much the same way, judging other creatures by their actions rather than fancy words.

Lifting his head decisively, narrowed eyes focused on the waves of long silver hair that cascaded carelessly down the black leather. Finally coming face-to-face with a wraith had not been the experience he had anticipated. Based on the descriptions painted with such gusto and graphic detail by some of the more experienced, more talkative marines on Atlantis and that single brief discussion with Ronon after their sparring session, he had expected something almost primitive in its outlook on and attitudes towards humans. A dark, menacing creature driven by barely contained hatred and aggression, who communicated through a form of growled conversation that rarely, if ever, reached any degree of intellectual engagement and sophistication.

But meeting this one called Todd had seriously challenged that expectation. Was it the fact that Sheppard had given him a human name or the character of the creature himself? Certainly he was intimidating but there was also a sense of curiosity, of almost polite humour and eloquence that Collins found more than a little disconcerting.

It was easy to understand why wraith should not, could not, be trusted but he also wanted to know more about them. Overall, it, or rather they, posed an interesting and, yes, terrifying dilemma. His inner archaeologist wanted to study what was obviously an old and distinctly unique civilisation while his inner human knew he was nothing more than a source of energy to be stolen and devoured at the blink of an eye.

Lights flickered as the group began navigating more of the long fringes of tendrils from the vegetation that had penetrated the facility. Evidence of the earlier exploration party's efforts to find a way through was helpful but it was still heavy going and Collins's concern about the two aliens faded as the party travelled deeper into the facility. It was just as Major Lorne and the others had described and just as he had expected; a dank, lonely place whose telltale Ancient origins were evident even under the unpredictable lighting and the invading vegetation.

The conversation that had been filtering from the front of the party became muted reflecting the general feeling of expectation tinged with an edge of fear that permeated the air. Collins huffed quietly to himself. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but it seemed that even Ronon and Todd were projecting less aggression. Perhaps, despite their individual bravado, they too were contemplating the individual challenges that surely lay ahead.

"Guess you're in your element here Doc? Nothing to worry you … yet."

Coming from immediately behind his left shoulder, Major Lorne's question startled Collins but he recovered quickly, hiding his surprise behind quick nod and a short chuckle. The two men had spent a few evenings drinking beer on long balcony outside the Atlantis mess hall so it was reassuring to see a friendly face.

"Yeah, if you'd told me when I was a kid that one day my life would revolve around travelling through the universe checking out old buildings I'd have thought you were crazy." It was a weak response but it was the best Collins could muster as he paused momentarily to allow Lorne to fall in beside him. "But you know they're all different and sometimes quite unique. On the surface this place looks like Atlantis but in really it's very different. If what … err ... Todd believes is true, that they made ZPMs here, then it would have been filled with scientists and engineers, there would probably have been fewer military than on Atlantis."

Collins paused to consider his next words carefully. Ever since his first off-world field expedition, he had inevitably found his mind turning to contemplate the beings who had frequented such eerily quiet corridors so long ago. Sometimes it seemed that vestiges of their presence remained in the ether, most times he knew he was the only one who felt them. Usually he kept these more abstract thoughts to himself but for some inexplicable reason he felt comfortable sharing them with Lorne. "It's filled with memories. Sometimes, when I spend time working in places like this, I can almost feel the men and women who lived here, hear their voices, I close my eyes and try to imagine how these places must have looked and felt when they were alive with activity..." suddenly feeling strangely vulnerable he stopped before casually shrugging his shoulders, "…some places that's easier than others."

"Yeah, well I've been to my share of these place too, not as many as you mind, but can't say I've ever felt anyone," the grin that crossed Lorne's face conveyed his scepticism about Collin's musings, "but then you've had far more experience than I have. How 'bout this place then? Given what's happened to Colonel Sheppard, seems there's more going on here than just memories?"

This time Collins nodded. "Yep, I think you're right. Can't hear any voices here though and I'm really not sure what we'll find...' he hesitated, suddenly hit by a potent of fear of the unknown, "...or if we'll be equipped to deal with it."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid off too." Lorne turned his head slightly and lowered his voice before continuing. "I wouldn't worry too much about these two, they need to sort things out, just make sure you don't get in their way and you'll be fine."

Collins's hands tightened around his firearm. Although he knew it was given with the best of intents, Lorne's advice triggered thoughts of Ronon's recent warning and another surge of resentment.

"Thank you Major, but I can assure you I don't need to be warned about how dangerous wraith can be or told to keep out of their way." He tried to temper his feelings but judging by the quick glance Lorne threw in his direction, he failed.

"Okay Doc, whatever you think but just remember I'm leading this expedition and if things go wrong, for any reason at all, you'll follow my orders." With a curt nod of his head, Lorne quicken his pace and moved past Todd towards the front of the expedition.

Collins sighed. While they were all under stress, by any standards that little encounter had ended badly. Did he need to improve his conversation skills or were people just naturally touching around wraith?

As they arrived at the elevators that would take them even deeper underground to finally face their real challenges, Collins did a quick mental reassessment of the dangers Todd and the mission as a whole might pose. Despite his bravado and assertions, the reality was that he had been sadly ill-prepared to cope with this whole confrontation. Since arriving in Pegasus his off world outings had brought him into contact with pretty compliant human races, creating a false sense of normality that was now well and truly shattered.

A prickle of heat spread across his scalp as a thin veneer of sweat rose on his forehead. Despite his experience, this mission could well turn out to be one of his biggest challenges.

Finally it was his turn to move into one of the elevators. Again he lifted his shoulders, straightened his back and stepped in next to stand next to Todd. The wraith welcomed him with a quick but confident smile that made Collins feel just a little uncomfortable so he did not return it.

Instead he instinctively grasped his P90 just a little tighter as he turned around and looked straight ahead as the doors slid closed. There was no need to make this anymore difficult than it already was. Just stay in control of his responses, do the job Mr Woolsey had sent him to do, stay out of Ronon's way, avoid getting into a situation where Todd might feel it appropriate to end a conversation with a quick snack and everything would be just fine.

_**x-X-x**_

"Colonel Sheppard? Where are you? Are you here?"

Tanus's voice, and the edge of panic that grew with each question, penetrated Sheppard's mind at the precise moment he realised, with a significant degree of relief, that the teleportation device had landed him somewhere on solid ground.

Opening his eyes, he looked down at the Ancient device that still nestled in the palm of his left hand. He clearly remembered watching as slightly hesitant fingers keyed in a destination agreed with Tanus but at some stage of the process his eyes had become shut tightly while he knew his face had contorted into a mask of tense expectation.

A couple of long, deep, even breaths helped release some of the tension, as did a quick flex of his shoulders. Looking on the positive side, here he was, alive and obviously still in the company of his new Lantean friend so sliding the device into a pocket, he began a strategic assessment of the terrain.

All the initial signs looked good triggering a sudden flush of relief that he had left that dark, dank Ancient prison behind. The sun hovered above the horizon straight ahead, its rays touching the surrounding small, fluffy clouds with swirling hues of pink, orange and red. The air held a coolish nip that, combined with the glistening beads of dew on the grass brushing against his legs, suggested they had arrived at the beginning rather than the end of the day.

Standing at the top of a long but quite narrow valley an unbroken expanse of open grassland interspersed with tracts of bright colours, reds, blues, purples and yellows, opened out before him extending as far as the eye could see. An occasional soft gust of a halfhearted breeze played gently across his face while the air was laden with the sweet scent of blossoms and birdsong filtered from the banks of tall trees that rose up on either side and circled round behind him. Even with a cursory survey, the orange and red foliage of these forest giants was impressive and beyond them, shrouded in early morning mist, rose the snow-covered peaks he had encountered on so many Pegasus worlds.

It all looked very picturesque, just like an illustration straight out of a child's storybook, but Sheppard was naturally wary. Sure it looked safe enough, at first glance anyway, but, as experience had so often taught him, appearances could be deceptive. Cocking his head slightly, he finally picked up the distant sound of running water. It was strangely soothing but less comforting was the obvious lack of any visible signs of human habitation, no settlement, no tracks or paths and certainly no star gate. At least it seemed to fit the bill as the type of world where the Ancients might have seeded life though and it was the beginning rather than the end of the day. Hopefully that day would be at least as long as those on Earth so they might just be able to find a gate or at least make contact with someone, hopefully humans, before nightfall. Being in the dark, out in the open, unarmed on a strange world was not part of his plans for the evening.

"_Colonel Sheppard?_" Another shout drew attention back to his missing companion, so he began a second, slightly slower survey of the area that confirmed Tanus was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, I'm here," Sheppard replied loudly, glancing over towards the trees, the obvious place to find the Ancient, "where the hell are you?"

"I'm here, please, I need your help." Sure enough the voice came from the forest to his left and while the panic had subsided, each word carried a heightened tone of desperation.

"Where's…" Sheppard paused, shook his head and huffed quietly, "…never mind, just keep talking and I'll follow your voice."

"What shall I talk about?"

Rolling his eyes, Sheppard started towards the trees noting on the way that the forest actually rose quite steeply up the foothills, a situation that would probably make traveling under its cover more difficult than he would have liked. "I don't know, you haven't spoken to anyone much lately so I'd have thought you'd have plenty to talk about."

Tanus's voice began to drone above the rising chorus of birds but in the end his topic of conversation was irrelevant as Sheppard soon pinpointed the Ancient's location several yards inside the tree line. Somehow he had managed to materialise in the middle of a large, roughly hewn pit. Obviously not naturally formed, it was about six foot deep with vertical walls that made it impossible for a man, or a beast, to get out without help. At least it showed there was some intelligent life on the world. Whether it was friendly was another matter altogether and they should probably aim to stay away from the animals the trap had been built to snare.

"First outing for ten thousand years and you end up in some sort of trap," a spontaneous wry grin spread across Sheppard's face as he bent down on his haunches, "give me your hands."

Tanus clearly understood his part in the rescue and within minutes he was standing next to the pit, brushing some stray leaves, twigs and dirt off his uniform and out of his hair. Sheppard was impressed and quietly pleased. The scientist exhibited unexpected strength through the grip of his hands and was amazingly agile for someone who had been in stasis for so long. Being stuck on an unknown world with an Ancient was not an ideal situation but being stuck with an Ancient as strong as Tanus would come in very useful if the life forms they finally met proved to be hostile rather than friendly.

"Any idea where we might be, anything look familiar?"

Okay, the question was a long shot but at this point Sheppard was prepared to try anything. So many things were in the balance here. The rest of his team still stuck in that damned facility and he could only hope that any rescue mission sent from Atlantis would have the common sense to take things slowly and not end up being caught in the Ancients' web. On a more personal, more immediate level, he was tired, thirsty and very hungry.

"No, I don't think so," Tanus pulled the second teleportation device out of his pocket, shook it a couple of times and gingerly turned the dials, "it's not registering as a world where we had any outposts or facilities but I didn't continue loading the full database once it became obvious the device was unstable ... and don't forget there were many human worlds in wraith held territory so ..." His voice trailed off as he walked over towards the edge of the trees leaving Sheppard with little choice but to follow. "I suppose now our enemy hold whatever territory they like? Cull wherever they want?"

Joining Tanus to look out over the grassland, Sheppard nodded his head but chose not to answer. Truth was he didn't really know what to say. While Tanus would be pleased to hear about the wraiths' civil war problems, it would take time to explain the changes 10,000 years had wrought on the galaxy. Inevitably, there would be more questions and right now he had other priorities. "So we're lost?" He asked quietly.

Tanus swung round immediately, his brow contracting into a frown. "Colonel Sheppard at the risk of sounding unpleasant, I have to say you really are one of the most ungrateful people I have ever met. Without my help you would still be sitting in our engineering facility, I would be back in stasis and you would be facing a slow, lingering death."

The admonishment was delivered in a calm, steady tone but still it jarred. Since neither his own tone nor his question had carried any hint of accusation, Sheppard was unprepared for such an outburst.

"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't grateful but there's a lot at stake here ... the rest of my team for a start..." He stopped mid sentence. Even through the dappled sunlight that was now infiltrating the forest canopy, he noticed a shadow flash across Tanus's face. He took a couple of steps closer before continuing. "What's going on? Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something here?"

Unease deepened as Tanus turned to gaze back out across the grasslands. Left staring at the silhouette of his traveling companion's face, Sheppard took a deep breath as a little voice echoed in his head warning that he was not going to like what was coming.

"It is more than likely your team are already dead." Tanus delivered the verdict in an unemotional monotone.

With hands unconsciously flexing into fists, Sheppard's instincts took over as he covered the few steps needed to bring himself face-to-face with the Ancient. "What'd you mean already dead? You said they'd be fine if we got back and-"

"If we got back." Tanus interrupted, standing his ground "You knew there was a chance this would not simply deliver us outside the facility so we could just walk back in and rescue them. I told you it was unpredictable but you were prepared to try it anyway."

"Hey don't try to put this back on me. You said my team was safe, that your captain would be back in stasis and we could get back and rescue them." Sheppard accused.

"I'm sorry. I may not have been entirely truthful with you. Midian-"

"Damn it..." Sheppard stopped as images of Todd flashed through his mind. What sort of crappy B-grade production always cast him as the one who managed to be stranded on some godforsaken world with an alien whose understanding of the truth was flexible to say the least? Not for the first time since arriving in the Pegasus Galaxy he decided that when it came to arrogance and duplicity the Ancients and the wraith probably deserved each other.

At least he was starting to get an understanding of the full truth of the situation though and when he finally spoke again, his voice conveyed the steely coldness he now felt towards Tanus. "You knew Midian would kill them once we were gone?"

Tanus tilted his head back and returned Sheppard's gaze unflinchingly. "Yes."

Struggling to keep control of his emotions, Sheppard pushed past Tanus to walk back into the forest, finally stopping to kick out angrily at a small pile of fallen logs lying among the short grass. Too late he realised it might not have been the smartest move but luckily the logs all disintegrated, dislodging a family of several lizard-like creatures and a swarm of small black midges that buzzed around their now ruined home briefly before forming a squadron and heading deeper into the trees. The temptation to do the same, to just walk away, was overwhelming but he knew it was impossible. Despite everything that had just unfolded, his fate was still inextricably linked to this man who had lied and deceived him. Together they had a far better chance of getting off this world that either of them did on their own so he just turned back to glare at Tanus. "Who ... what gave you the right to sacrifice my team, to say that your life was worth more than theirs?"

Tanus had turned and taken a couple of steps in Sheppard's direction but he maintained a safe distance. "I am sorry," he repeated, sounding sincere but Sheppard had his doubts, "it was always going to be impossible to rescue them but I did not know how to tell you that. Even after speaking with you for just a short time, I understood the kind of man you are, that you would not even consider leaving unless you thought you could go back for them but there was no way we could have all escaped. You must believe me. It had to be just you and me."

"You sacrificed my team for yourself." Sheppard spat out the accusation, not yet trusting himself to move back to the forest edge.

"You must understand Colonel, being released from stasis gave me a chance to live the life that had been taken from me. Ten thousand years is a long time to sleep ... do you understand what it is like to be given the opportunity to see what has happened in that time. To breathe fresh air again, to stand with the sun's rays warming my body. You said things have changed, your people, humans, consorting with wraith. I need to understand how that could happen. I'm sorry if I deceived you but can you honestly say that if our positions had been reversed, you would not have done exactly the same thing?"

_**x-X-x**_

It was dark, far darker and far more threatening than Todd remembered from his first visit here or perhaps the web of fear woven by the Guardians was more invasive now that he could not longer dismiss them as myths or the product of overactive imaginations. It was not just the Guardians though. As they went deeper underground the remnant auras from the host of long-dead Lanteans who had inhabited this facility were inescapable, invading his mind, pushing at his conscience and forcing long remained hidden memories of the war, especially those times when his life had come close to being extinguished, to emerge. For some reason memories of the seemingly endless torture he had endured at the hands of those Genii monsters were also ignited.

Was it this place or just the fact that the vulnerability that seemed to be seeping into the very core of his being was leaving him open to memories of other times when he had felt a similar sense of weakness? He growled softly, as much in response to his own discomfort than anything that was going on around him. There were no answers, at least none that would banish these demons back where they belonged. It would not end here though. If he was to escape this place, this aberration had to be conquered so he turned the one activity guaranteed to bring his own auras back into balance. Watching the humans.

"Okay, as far as I can make out, this is probably the place where Sheppard and his team disappeared." Doctor McKay's voice echoed around the confined corridor.

The scientist was standing just in front of an arched opening, his hands wrapped around one of the portable computer tablets he seemed to always have on hand. Despite the element of uncertainty his assessment held, his voice was brim full of the familiar confidence Todd had heard before on many occasions.

"But you're not sure?" Major Lorne questioned, stepping forward to peer intently through the arch into the empty space that also held McKay's attention.

Todd knew neither of them could see much. The lighting beyond the arch had not activated and while his vision under such conditions was far better than a human's, he could not see anything of significance or interest. Lorne's tone was steelier than usual though and Todd sensed the familiar mix of undercurrents that he knew so well – the responsibilities of leadership overlaid with a respect for the unknown. A respect that he had unfortunately seriously underestimated in his own assessment of this place.

"No, I'm not one hundred per cent sure, which is why I said 'probably the place'." McKay swung round to glare at Lorne. "Look, I'm sorry Sheppard wasn't quick enough to leave us a little note saying 'X marks the spot where we disappeared' but," he peered down at the computer tablet, "something is going on here."

Todd huffed softly. Unusual as it was to see this arrogant Atlantean scientist express any sort of doubt, to admit uncertainty about anything, no such hesitancy existed in his own mind. Despite his overall apprehension about this place, he was sure about one thing at least.

Quite sure.

At a point in the darkness ahead, just beyond where the two Atlanteans stood, the familiar presence he had been following since entering the facility, the unique aura immediately recognisable as belonging to his Chief Scientist, disappeared abruptly. Colonel Sheppard's aura also faded but not with the harsh finality that marked the absolute demise of his crew. Perhaps Sheppard and the other humans still lived. Perhaps not.

His eyes darted around at the gather humans. Any inclination he might have once felt to share this or any other information with them had been significantly compromised since leaving Atlantis. The exchange with the Satedan as they moved out of the jumper and the totally unnecessary warning to the one named Collins as they entered the facility still played on his mind. Plus the rest of the Atlanteans were making no attempt to hide their distrust of him, his three warriors, and their motives for being there. Not that he really expected or wanted anything different from such inferior creatures but still it impinged on his sense of order and propriety.

So he remained silent, lips pressed tightly together, the fingers on both hands flexing rhythmically, unwilling to volunteer any information to these particular humans. Were Sheppard here things may have been different, he might have been more open with his thoughts, but knowing that the life forces of his own kind were totally extinguished was a persuasive argument to keeping his own counsel. And that was how it would be, for the time being at least, certainly until it suited his purpose to be more forthcoming.

Lorne chose not to dignify McKay's commentary with a response but Todd caught the quick, withering look thrown in the scientist's direction. Obviously the major was less tolerant of McKay's unique communication style than Sheppard might have been.

"So Doc," as Lorne spoke, he took a step closer to the arched opening before glancing back at the rest of the party, "you got any ideas here?"

Aware that Collins stood just behind his left shoulder, Todd stepped aside but almost immediately McKay's rising animosity and disquiet bounced against his mind. Interest piqued, dark eyes flickered between the two humans, watching the tension he had sensed earlier on Atlantis manifest into something more tangible. The depth of McKay's feelings came as a surprise to his finely tuned perceptions and they pushed his own feelings about this place to the back of his mind. From what he had seen during their time working together, it was unusual for the scientist's confidence to be shaken by anyone or anything, let alone another human who was clearly his junior.

It was a familiar scenario though. Such jealousies prevailed when young wraith, eager to raise their profile with their queen and commander, challenged the views and assumptions of their superiors. Indeed he had played both roles during his long climb through the command hierarchy. Despite the tension in which they were all immersed, a wry smile crossed his smooth face, a reaction borne out of some still vivid memories of times long past and wraith long dead.

It was only fleeting though. While some positive reminiscences were welcome to counter the prevailing negativity controlling his thoughts, this was not the time for such an indulgence so he focused attention back to Collins. Casually linking into the young human's thoughts as they travelled into the facility, he had read the turmoil. His own part in the maelstrom of emotions was clear, and quite understandable, but more useful, and perhaps still understandable, was Collins's need to prove himself to the Satedan. Interestingly though, he showed no inclination to challenge McKay, certainly not in the way a wraith would challenge his superior. Instead his demeanour spoke of hesitation and almost reluctance to answer Lorne's question.

But McKay wasted no time putting forward his opinion. "Okay, come on, let's hear what you've got to say since Woolsey seems to think you can help. You got anything better to offer?"

Again Todd sensed the young human's hesitation but this time it was tempered by a desire to put McKay in his place. Rather than respond to the challenge verbally though, Collins walked over to a panel on the wall next to the arch that neither McKay nor Lorne had noticed. Todd had missed it too but Collins's excitement was clear as he brushed a hand over the panel and peered at the writing etched into its now dull surface.

"It's not like anything we've got on Atlantis. It's a warning, written in Ancient."

McKay moved over to the wall panel, pushing Collins aside in the process and making no attempt to hide the impatience and annoyance that he had missed the panel. "Doctor Weir taught Sheppard some Ancient but I doubt he'd remember enough to read something on his own."

Collins pushed his way back. "Few people can read it well enough to decipher this message Doctor McKay, not even you." Todd sensed a terse response forming in McKay's mind but Collins did not wait for a response. "Like I was saying, it's a warning, to any who might follow, that going further will not produce the prize they seek."

"Does it happen to mention anything about disappearing into thin air?" McKay inquired sceptically.

Finally Todd felt it appropriate to join the conversation. "It does not need to, it's meaning is quite clear. Obviously it was meant for wraith and," his grimace embraced all three Atlanteans, "I can assure you, had we found this place earlier, we would be able to fully understand their meaning."

"How come your scientist didn't understand what it said then?"

Todd growled softly as some of McKay's animosity spread in his direction but he did not get chance to reply.

"Okay," Lorne cut in, "so that confirms this is the place where they disappeared but we're still no closer to knowing where they went or if we can rescue them."

"Well, I wonder if those of us who carry the ATA gene will be safe. If this is some sort of failsafe the Ancients set," Collins glanced at Todd, "to keep the wraith out after they'd left, it would have to allow them back in."

"Brilliant theory with just one flaw, the gene didn't stop Sheppard from being taken." McKay scoffed.

Lorne just shook his head and launched another glare in McKay's direction. "No, but he had wraith with him so if I had to make a guess, I'd say that probably cancelled out the gene. Perhaps there's some code they could key in? They seemed to have liked that sort of thing." Lorne finally took the couple of steps that brought him closer to the wall panel.

"No," McKay shook his head decisively, "there's no key pad here and-"

"It doesn't matter how the Ancients got back in. How're we going to get Sheppard out?" The runner's voice cut across McKay into Todd's consciousness.

The Satedan had stepped forward unnoticed but his arrival now brought a soft, spontaneous growl to Todd's throat. "Perhaps you would like to lead the way?" He hissed, politely he thought, as Ronon stopped next to Collins.

"Perhaps you'd like to come with me?' Came the reply, delivered through an exaggerated yet humourless smile that displayed two rows of gleaming teeth.

"Okay, have you two completely forgotten what I said back in the jumper or are you both too stupid to understand?" Lorne spun round to face them, the irritation clearly etched into his face.

For the first time Todd felt a degree of respect for this human warrior forced to assume the mantle of command. Inevitably it was grudging, but it was respect no less. "Of course major, I understand completely." He bowed his head in a gesture of mock compliance. "This is our Satedan friend's first visit here and since he has already failed Colonel Sheppard once in this little venture, I was merely offering him an opportunity make amends and put his courage to the test."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

A sense of emptiness and despair filled him to the core, seeping into the tiny recesses of his mind, denying any respite from its insidious grasp. It surprised and shocked him. While nowhere near as intense as the myriad of emotions that had torn at his spirit and soul when Sateda fell to the wraith, it still revealed a depth of feeling, of caring, unlike anything he thought himself capable of ever experiencing again.

Closing his eyes, Ronon forced his mind to travel back to the dark place that was now permanently imprinted on his memories. They had searched relentlessly, covering every part of the Ancient facility, or at least every accessible part, and finding nothing. No sign of Sheppard and his team, no clue to their fate, and certainly no evidence of the ZPMs that Todd had used to lure them into this folly in the first place. Just cold, dark emptiness that fed their collective despair.

From the start, as they had moved cautiously through the arched entrance, a pall of hopelessness had enveloped them all. Each felt and understood it but none had been prepared to speak it. So they had walked though empty rooms, down more corridors until, in the end, he had been the one to make the decisive move to finish searching by simply turning and walking out. No explanation, no argument from the others. In his mind it was the only thing to do, not because he was tired of looking, not because he had had enough of the constant niggling between McKay and Collins about what might have happened but because he felt sure they were missing something.

Sheppard was still alive. Something, some vague feeling he was unable to describe refused to believe things were that simple, that Sheppard and his team had just disappeared. But he also doubted that anyone shared his view.

Except perhaps Todd.

Eyes flashed open, focusing immediately on furthest reaches of the calm expanse of ocean that held Atlantis in its grasp. In a clear, cloudless sky, the setting sun was just slipping below the horizon, still generating some warmth but not enough to dampen the cold flash of hatred that pulsed through his mind, propelled by thoughts of his antagonist. Of course the wraith had refused to join the search for Sheppard, using the fact that his hive would certainly attack Atlantis if he did not return safely as leverage to get Lorne's agreement. Such blatant cowardice had come as no surprise, though for once Ronon's annoyance had been directed primarily towards Lorne for allowing himself to be so easily manipulated.

But even after getting his own way, Todd had remained uncharacteristically quiet, as if lost in his own thoughts and Ronon had done nothing to hide his suspicions that the creature knew more than he was saying. Challenging him had been useless though. In fact once the decision had been made to leave the place - Ronon still refused to think of it as abandoning the search - Todd had simply taken his three warriors and led the procession back to the surface.

So now he stood alone, breathing in the sea air, the only sound coming from the gentle breaking of waves against the great bulk of Atlantis. Light from the dual rising moons, both in their fullest phase, was rapidly replacing the dying sunlight to cast it's eerie half-light across the landing deck where he had come looking for solitude to think.

Over on the next pier, still visible in the half-light, Todd's shuttle stood alone, a stark reminder that even though his hive now orbited overhead, the wraith remained on Atlantis. Taking a couple of steps closer to the pier edge, he folded his arms across his chest and took a deep breath that he then released slowly and thoughtfully. Part of him had to admire, albeit reluctantly, the sleek lines of the alien craft while another, more logical part, saw it as a potent symbol of the one thing that Ronon really hated about these people from another galaxy who had taken Atlantis as their own. Their willingness to associate with this wraith when it served their own purposes, something no Satedan would ever have considered no matter how dire the situation.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts, bringing a frown to his face. Not wanting to talk to anyone, he had come here straight from the jumper bay so this was probably Lorne or even Woolsey come to find out what was going on. It crossed his mind that perhaps if he ignored them, they would get the message that he wanted to be left alone and just leave. It was a vague hope but he remained silent staring intently out to sea anyway.

"Your mind is full of troubled thoughts Satedan, if it is solitude you seek, you should learn to guard them more closely."

The multi-toned voice echoed in his ears, setting his heart racing and igniting his survival instincts. Hand flying up to draw his sword, he swung round ready for the confrontation that had played out in his mind so many times since their first meeting.

But Todd was unarmed and accompanied by two marines. Moreover, with his arms straight at his sides but held away from his body, palms open in a gesture that signified a request to negotiate, the wraith clearly had something to say. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Ronon's determination intensified as he took a couple of steps forward. It was an opportunity too good to miss, a chance to strike down this blight on the galaxy and do Atlantis a favour in the process.

The two marines exchanged a quick glance but made no attempt to intervene. The wraith stood his ground too, looking out from behind a static mask totally devoid of any emotion, missing both the arrogant smirk or the unpleasant snarl that Ronon knew were reserved for him alone.

"You may strike me down, indeed, I promise you will never have a better opportunity, but sating your hatred will only bring about your own death and that of all those whom you respect. Including John Sheppard."

Although convinced there was some trickery involved, Ronon still lowered his sword a couple of inches at mention of his friend's name. "Sheppard's already dead." He stated unequivocally, his voice a flat monotone despite the emotion behind his words.

Todd chucked, a rough, grating sound that, in such circumstances, Ronon found even more offensive than usual. "Are you quite sure? We both suspect the truth to be very different although we both know the other humans here lack the imagination to see beyond what their eyes tell them. Normally, I would have expected the same of you but I sensed your doubts at the Ancient facility." Todd paused to walk over to the edge of the pier and stood silently for a few seconds, looking across at his shuttle before turning to face Ronon. "Sheppard is alive," he whispered persuasively, "we both know it. The problem will be finding him."

"Why do you care?"

This time Todd grunted and nodded in agreement. "A logical question but not one that I care to answer since you lack the subtleties of logic needed to understand my relationship with Sheppard."

Feeling his temper rise in response to such an off-hand dismissal, Ronon raised his sword again but still made no attempt to attack. Todd's earlier warning could not be ignored. If he were struck down, the hive would sense his demise immediately and waste no time in attacking. Glancing briefly beyond the two marines towards the main towers of Atlantis, Ronon cursed that he had let his guard down when wraith were in the city. Lost in his own thoughts he had wandered too far, making it impossible, even if he sprinted, to warn anyone in time to prepare an adequate defence.

"Your friends and Atlantis are safe..." a deliberate pause designed to invoke menace that Ronon pointedly ignored, "...for now. All that concerns you at the present time is that, unlike them, I am prepared to continue the search for your colonel, a man you obviously respect and admire. So rather than challenging my motives, you should be asking if you are capable of following my lead to put aside our differences and join me?"

So many questions, so many doubts, flashed through Ronon's mind but he knew he must focus on Sheppard. "What makes you so sure he's still alive?"

This time Todd edged closer, flashing a quick look at the sword pointed in his direction, before looking Ronon straight in the eye. "Because his auras were not extinguished in the same way as those of my crew. At first I could not be sure but while you and the other Atlanteans were away searching I reached out further, beyond the spot where they were taken and caught snatches, wisps of something familiar. I know nothing about those who accompanied him but I know the aura I sensed was Sheppard."

"So he's still there somewhere? We need to go back."

Growling softly, Todd shook his head decisively but Ronon still caught a faint shadow of doubt in those dark eyes. " No, he is gone from that place, of that I am certain."

"Gone? Where?"

He desperately wanted to believe but again suspicion dominated his thoughts. Could he seriously consider trusting a wraith, especially one as devious as Todd, even though Sheppard's life may depend on that trust.

"I have already said the problem will be finding him but I have resources that will be useful in a search, not just of my own territory but throughout the galaxy."

Finally Ronon lowered the sword, resting it gently on the ground and resting both hands on the hilt. "So let me get this straight. You want me to go with you to search for Sheppard because you think you've sensed he's still alive?"

Todd nodded but remained silent, his eyes fixed on Ronon's face.

"You want me to trust you enough to leave everyone I do _trust_, behind in Atlantis just to come with you?" Ronon asked, raising the sword to point straight at Todd's heart before looking carefully along the blade.

Finally the familiar confident smile spread across Todd's face as he reached out, placed his hand on the blade and pushed the sword away. "Oh, no, I am not suggesting you come alone," he purred, "I suggest Doctor Collins should accompany us. He is eager to learn about my kind and, who knows, he may yet prove to be far more useful than Doctor McKay is prepared to believe. But as I have always said, the final decision is yours alone."

With that final ultimatum Todd turned and began walking back along the pier to the main city taking his marine escort with him, once again leaving Ronon alone with his own thoughts. He watched them go, his mind a mass of conflicting emotions, knowing that for once Todd was quite right. This was his decision and he alone had to live with the consequences of making the wrong choice.

**x-X-x**

"Perhaps we could try to catch one of these fish?" Tanus inquired as he squatted on the edge of the river bank. He had been watching said fishes for some time as they poked lazily around the stoney bed of one of the small channels off the main river, obviously intent on finding some food of their own.

Stretching as he stood up, he looked back hopefully to where Colonel Sheppard was sitting further up the bank, chewing on a stalk of grass. He was hungry and the frown on the colonel's face told a similar story. Earlier in the day they had collected and rather tentatively eaten some berries Sheppard said looked like the blackberries he used to eat on his home world. No ill-effects had followed but the fruit, while tasty, had not provided the sustenance they needed.

"Yeah, I guess it's a possibility. You ever fished before?"

Tanus shook his head and looked back across the river wistfully. "No, I was sent from my home to Atlantis before I was old enough to learn such skills. I was always destined to be a scientist but part of me always regretted not not being able to spend more time on one of our other worlds."

"Yeah, well we don't have time for your life history now," Sheppard muttered as he stood up, "stay here while I go see if I can find what we need."

Tanus sighed and moved further up the bank to sit down and resume his watch on the river. He had no idea what they needed to catch the fish but would have offered to help find it anyway even though he knew such an offer would be rejected outright.

Overall, the day so far had not gone well. Colonel Sheppard had responded when spoken to but there was an edge of coldness that had not been there in their earlier conversations. Twice he had tried to apologise but each time his explanations were rebuffed by a stony stare and cold silence. Not that he was surprised. By any standards he had pushed the boundaries ... no ... overstepped the boundaries of acceptable behavior. The man was entitled to maintain his anger ... well for today at least. Tomorrow would be different. Hopefully.

A single, sharp, loud grating noise rose above the flow of the river, taking him by surprise. The forest had been alive with the sounds of wildlife but it was much quieter here with only the occasional bird call. Was this an animal perhaps? It seemed to come from the other bank but a quick scan showed nothing they could either eat or might eat them. His thoughts flashed back briefly to the trap into which he had materialise when they arrived and he uttered yet another a quiet hope that they would not meet the beast it was meant to snare. He watched the bank intently for a few minutes but there was no movement and the sound was not repeated. Maybe it had just been in his imagination? He silently nodded his head. Yes, that was it, just in his imagination.

Satisfied with that thought, he looked up into the clear blue sky. Several hours had passed since the confrontation with Colonel Sheppard in the forest and judging by the position of the sun there were still some hours of daylight left. Still time to find that illusive human settlement.

They had begun by searching for some sort of track or trail but when nothing turned up, Sheppard had said they needed to find the river because humans settled near water. Tanus had agreed. Even with his lack of experience out in the open it had sounded like a sensible approach so he had simply nodded and followed. And that was how their search had continued, Sheppard leading while he followed like a faithful pet eager for its master's goodwill.

Linking his hands behind his head, he lay back against the river bank to enjoy the sunshine. So many new sights and aromas stimulated his senses. The air, still laden with scents, less fragrant since they left behind the vast meadow with its abundance of wildflowers, but still evoking vague memories of times and people now long gone. Birds wove abstract paths across the sky and while they would have provided a useful meal, he knew there was no way they could bring one down. While he had never challenged his assigned role on Atlantis, this brief time spent on this unknown world had opened his eyes to so much that he had missed. So much that he possibly would have enjoyed, given the chance.

No use worrying over what might have been though. His people were long gone while his own future was yet to be determined. But while he was keen to resume a normal life, he had heard enough in the brief conversations with Colonel Sheppard to know he faced some significant challenges understanding this new world into which he had awoken In an effort to clear his mind, he closed his eyes and was just about to drift away when Sheppard's voice interrupted his meditations.

"Hey, Tanus, wake-up."

Sitting up and turning in one swift movement, he saw the colonel climbing back down the bank to take up a position peering over the edge through the long grass.

"Have you found something?"

"Not something, someone. A couple of men walking towards the river."

"Did they see you?" Tanus asked nervously, filled with a sudden surge of apprehension despite his eagerness to experience his new surroundings. Meeting strangers had always been a challenge, meeting strangers who were not at least his own people triggered a sense of foreboding and vulnerability.

"No, I didn't see them, they were behind some bushes, I just heard their voices." Sheppard whispered back down the bank. "Will you get up here now."

But Tanus remained down near the river. "Surely we don't have any choice, we have to make contact." It was a rhetorical question but it was as if just stating the obvious aloud helped overcome his qualms.

Sheppard shook his head. "Did I say we weren't going to make contact? In case you've forgotten, we're unarmed so it pays to know as much as you can about strangers, especially if they're armed, before stepping out in front of them and introducing yourself."

More sensible advice, although Tanus caught just a hint of sarcasm in the delivery. Still it was enough to boost his confidence so he crawled up the bank and looked over the top.

Two men were approaching from further down the river, walking away from the stance of low trees and bushes that Sheppard had mentioned. Of identical height and build they looked like kinsmen although, difficult as it was to tell from that position, he thought they were probably a good head shorter than either himself or Colonel Sheppard. Both wore identical clothing; a rough brown jacket buttoned up the front, loose breeches of a slightly darker brown and boots. Engaged in quite an intense conversation, they carried a large basket between them while each held a long pole in the other hand.

"Fishermen," Sheppard turned and whispered, "if they're carrying weapons, looks like they don't feel the need to have them readily accessible."

"They look like brothers. Do you think they'll be friendly?"

"Well, there's really only one way to find out," Sheppard stood and climbed the handful of steps to the top of the bank, "just follow my lead and don't give away too much information. In fact don't say anything, just leave the talking to me."


End file.
